Sarawak look to throwers, hurdlers for Sukma glory
SARIKEI: SMK Tinggi Sarikei is no ordinary school as it is one of the two centres that has long produced some of the best state athletes in field events. A long list of Sukma champion throwers have also emerged from this hotbed through the years including current SEA Games hammer throw champion Grace Wong Xiu Mei.
The other centre is SMK Tong Hua in Meradong district where State Sukma coach Ling Neng Tung also travels to regularly to provide assistance to school coach Wong Leong Kim and Sarawak Sukma shot putter Kong Chin Poh and javelin thrower Wong Xiao Jing.
MSNS Strength and Condit ioning coach Andre Richards recently visited the school to assess the athletes and file a report. In particular he met and tapped on the expertise of Ling who plays the key role in producing so many champion throwers in Sarawak.
Andre had a fruitful trip as he picked up on Ling’s knowledge and experience to develop a practical theory and a prospective manual on throwing the hammer. It centres around factors such as the precision of the footwork, distance of the implement from the athlete’s body and the right sequence of three turns and acceleration.
Meanwhi le, as expected, Sarawak will be relying mainly on throwers to win track and field glory in the upcoming Sukma starting in Perak next week. The best gold medal prospects are Grace and Johnny Ling in the hammer, Queenie Ting and Abdul Rahman Lee in the discus. Mohd Rizzua Haizad and Quek Lee Yong will defend their men’s 110 and 400m hurdles titles while Norris Foo will be Sarawak’s best hope in the women’s 100m and 100m hurdles.