SRAM in disarray after budget cuts by NSC

KUALA LUMPUR: The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) are in a quandary after suffering from massive budget cuts.

SRAM director Mejar (Rtd) S. Maniam said their national training programme were in disarray as they could not send players for international tournaments until further notice.

They lacked the funding to bear the cost of travelling following the cut by the National Sports Council (NSC).

“The NSC informed us last month that there will be budget cuts. We are struggling to send national players for PSA (Professional Squash Association) tournaments for the Hong Kong and Pakistan Opens next month,” said Maniam.

“And for the first time, NSC will not be funding any player for the prestigious British Junior Open in Birmingham (from Jan 2-6). Usually, they’ll fund eight to 10 juniors every year.

“We are unable to send a team for the Asian Junior Team championships in Pattaya (from Jan 16-20), too.”

Maniam’s option now is to look for sponsors to fund their athletes.

“We’ve done well in competitions this year but our plan for next year is affected by the budget cuts,” said Maniam.

“The NSC have been very supportive of squash all these years but we understand that their hands are tight as the government don’t have the funds.”

SRAM have played their part in producing world-class players like eight-time world champion Nicol David, Ong Beng Hee, Mohd Azlan Iskandar, Low Wee Wern, Nafiizwan Adnan and others.

Nicol came through the junior ranks by winning all the age categories - Under-11, Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 in the British Junior Open.

Nicol also created many records for winning the most number of PSA titles – a total of 81. She also became the first women player to win eight world titles and the first player to win back-toback world junior title.