National Sports Associations are now facing uncertainties

THE phrase “Rome was not built in a day,” is a saying to remind us that it takes time to accomplish greatness. Rome took decades to become the most influential empire in the world.

And their struggle to turn into an empire can be related to sports.

Countries like the United States, Britain and China spend a lot on sports science, research and other modern methods to help their athletes become world and Olympic champions.

Monetary investment is paramount in modern sports, and while Malaysia has spent a lot on its athletes, only a few have achieved great results.

Malaysia is probably doing things right in terms of grooming athletes but “money talks in sports” and maybe we are just not investing enough.

Currently, there are uncertainties on which direction Malaysian sports will be taking under the new government.

Over the last few years, we have been talking about winning our first Olympic gold medal in 2020 Tokyo but achieving it will probably be tough.

This is because many have no clue on the direction the Sports Ministry are planning to take to prepare athletes for the world’s biggest games.

The only clue we have is that the budget for athletes will be smaller compared to previous years.

While Podium Programme will still continue amid slight changes such as prioritising only athletes in Olympic sports with a smaller budget than the RM67 million spent over two years, the future of second-tier athletes or those not among the elite looks bleak.

Right now, we just do not have young athletes coming up the ranks good enough to be competitive at the Olympics.

In badminton, Lee Chong Wei will be 38 in two years’ time, but the shuttler may retire soon after his recent battle with early stage nose cancer.

Men’s doubles Goh V ShemTan Wee Kiong and mixed doubles Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying do not look competitive enough, but there could be hope in shuttlers like Lee Zii Jia, who won the Taiwan Open recently.

How far Zii Jia progresses will depend on whether he is given the right training module which will allow him to progress.

Many shuttlers, who showed promise as juniors, have come and disappeared due to many factors over the years.

Only the BA of Malaysia have the answer why some with potential have disappeared from the scene but we hope the current batch will succeed.

The Cheong Jun Hoong-led national diving team were progressing in the era of coach Yang Zhuliang but the decision not to renew his contract last year has slightly affected the athletes.

To be fair, they are still winning medals but not as dominant as before.

We can expect silver or bronze medals from the women divers, but gold is near-impossible in Tokyo.

Azizulhasni Awang will probably be Malaysia’s best bet for an Olympic title in Tokyo but it will all depend how far the keirin specialist can progress in view that many of his younger rivals are beginning to show their prowess.

The results at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the Indonesia Asian Games, both this year, do not augur well ahead of the Olympics.

Don’t get me wrong, Malaysia will have a respectable number of athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, but only a few will be competitive enough to have any chance of finishing on the podium.

The Sports Ministry need to act fast and come up with an effective strategy to address the current uncertainties in Malaysian sports.

While supporting the elite is important, efforts but also be taken to ensure the back-up and junior athletes are given the necessities to progress.

The National Sports Associations (NSAs) are now being left in dark over the new direction that has yet to be implemented.

Their coffers are drying up and some NSAs may have to stop their nationwide development programmes soon.

It will probably be tough for these NSAs to continue their programmes unless sponsors come in.

A programme such as the nowdefunct ‘Kita Juara’ initiative needs to be re-implemented to prepare the back-up squad for next year’s Philippines Sea Games.

Malaysia were the overall champions of the 2017 edition, and it will be embarrassing if the country do not do well next year.

Those holding positions in sports bodies should put in more efforts in managing sports accordingly in the country.

At the moment, the sports scene does not look good unless the concerned parties take immediate action to address them.