Getting closer and closer to the mark
Quest to make Sarawak an archery powerhouse intensififi es as 2020 Sukma looms
SIBU: The quest to explore new frontiers to make Sarawak an archery powerhouse in the country intensifies as the 2020 Sukma looms.
Never mind that the state has never even come close to lifting the overall title for archery at the Malaysia Games (Sukma).
Still, some level of achievement was attained with a handful of gold medals obtained in the past few Sukma.
At the most recent 2018 Perak Sukma, Sarawak was placed fifth in the medal tally behind Sabah, which was top again in archery back-to-back, followed by Perak and Selangor.
“Our hunt for the elusive title remains and the only way forward is to seek for further glory in the archery sport,” Sarawak Archery Association (Pemasa Sarawak) secretary-general Chong Yap Jin told thesundaypost in an exclusive interview.
It is neither easy nor impossible to realise this dream, Chong said.
“Anything is possible. If all of us in the archery fraternity work together aggressively, we can make things happen,” he added.
Sarawak started late in the sport compared to other states.
Even after Pemasa Sarawak was registered in 1994 there were limited activities and competitions organised.
Obviously, hardly any top calibre archer emerged against such a backdrop.
The sport only picked up momentum in the late 1990s.
A broader base of athletes led to the formation of Pemasa Kuching, Sarikei, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Limbang and Lawas, all affiliated to Pemasa Sarawak.
The affable and efferverscent Chong is widely regarded as the key person behind the development of the sport.
He first took up the sport in 1984 as a hobby and soon developed a passion for it.
In his 40 years of involvement in the sport, Chong said he has encountered many ups and downs but he never relented or felt dejected.
Indeed, from Kuching to Kapit, rain or shine, he can be spotted on the ground, rendering advice and guidance to officials.
“Archery is my second love. Truly, if we want to be the champion, we must always have a heart on the development of the sport. The rest is secondary,” he said.
Practice makes perfect and Chong believes there must be regular competitions for players to compete in order to upgrade their skills.
Pemasa Sarawak, Chong revealed, has drawn up next year’s programmes with both indoor and outdoor championships aimed at tapping talents.
Starting from next year the Sarawak Outdoor Archery Championship will be held in Kuching.
He said this is to cut costs and logistics problems involved in the transfer of the target butts and timers from one place to another.
“We do not know the situation on the field in other towns and so, moving around these equipment cost us a lot. Hence, effective next year, we have decided to host the championship only in Kuching,” he explained.
In past years the event was staged in towns like Lawas, Limbang, Bintulu, Sarikei and Sibu.
While happy with the progress of archery in the state Chong was quick to point to areas for improvement.
“I must admit that there is a better system guiding the development of the sport now with each division having its own internal tournament to promote and upgrade the sport and pick the elite for the state championship. That should be the way.” No shortage of grassroots Chong noted that there is no shortage of good archers to take over the mantle once the seniors have passed on.
“Pemasa Sibu have been off the track for quite sometime and we are happy that it had pick up the pieces in recent years and joined the rest of its affiliates to produce players of good calibre.”
In the Sarawak Indoor Archery Championship held in Kapit in November, Sibu’s Desmond Ho Liang Hong sprang a surprise when he captured two titles, the Men’s Individual Open and Youth Section.
“We are looking at the possibility of training Ho for the outdoor event to prepare him for the coming 2020 Johore Sukma. Sukma’s which is an outdoor event. Ho has the potential and hopefully, he will continue to shine in both the outdoor and indoor events.”
Chong said it is rare for Pemasa Sibu to produce good players as most of the top players hailed from Miri.
“With Sibu catching up, it gave the reasons for other affiliates to wake up, train harder and aim higher so that they will not be left behind. Hopefully, every division will do their part to promote the sport. They can organise internal archery championship before picking their best for the Johore Sukma.”
Chong said they have yet to set their target for the 2020 Johore Sukma.
“Of course, we hope to collect five gold medals as any team that collected five gold medals will normally lift the overall title for archery category. We will come to that when we cross the bridge,” he said.
On the grassroots development, Chong said there was never any shortage of athletes.
‘It’s getting popular with more and more youngsters picking up the game. This is an encouraging sign and it will definitely augur well for the development of the sport.”
Chong said they had also done coaching courses for every division so that these coaches could help unearth talented players.
The current coach Jeffery Low, who is from Penang, is expected to go around scouting for potential players and bring them to Kuching for centralised training. Pemasa Miri the best affiliate Chong singled out Pemasa Miri as the best affiliate.
“Miri is traditionally the state powerhouse of archery,” he said.
“The parents (in Miri) are very supportive of the game. They get hold of the expensive equipment for the children.
“If these parents are so sporting and are willing to fork out the money to buy the sporting equipment for their children, one can only smell success in the sport.”
Once the children have the shooting equipment, the bow and arrows, the coach can help tune and adjust the equipment so that they can shoot better.
Pemasa Sibu, Chong acknowledged, is getting better and its own range provides a proper venue for players to train.
“Kapit is also catching up, so are Lawas and Limbang.”
Pemasa Sarawak, Chong pointed out, is also spending time to train technical officers.
“So each time, when we organise either the outdoor or the indoor championship, we are actually giving opportunities to our athletes to shoot and our officers to carry out their duties,” he said.
Next year’s Sarawak Basic Archery Coaching Course and Level 1 Basic Archery Coaching Course will both be held in Bintulu.
Former Sarawak Sports Council (MSNS) head coach for archery Chong Yap Lee can also forsee a bright future for the archers from Sarawak.
He noted the progress made by Pemasa Sibu.
“We are seeing results nowadays and I am confident that in time to come, Pemasa Sibu will be able to produce top-notch players of state and national calibre,” he said.
Chong is the current national coach of Thailand archery team. This was his second stint as the national coach in Thailand, having worked there from early 2014 to 2017 before he was appointed as Saudi Arabia national archery coach in Aug 2017..
Like Yap Jin, Yap Lee also hailed from Lawas.
Yap Lee said Miri started early and that explained why 10 of the 16 players selected the 2018 Sukma were from Miri.
Sibu Sports Council coordinator Hii King Hung said Sibu have two archery training centres, one at Bukit Lima School and the other located next to Menara Rimbunan Hijau at Jalan Lanang.
She assured that the council is all behind the quest to make Sarawak become an archery powerhouse in Malaysia.
(This is the final article of the three-part series on Archery in Sarawak)
Anything is possible. If all of us in the archery fraternity work together aggressively, we can make things happen. — Chong Yap Jin, Pemasa Sarawak secretary-general