High-level exposure for para athletes at SukSar — Fatimah
KUCHING: The Sukan Sarawak (SukSar) 2017 provides a good exposure for the state athletes with disabilities.
According to Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, the Games could enhance their performance and keep them in good shape for major tournaments in the future.
“On top of that we want our athletes to be consistent and help retain the Malaysia Paralympic Games title. The competition of this nature is very competitive and the athletes must be consistent,” she said.
Fatimah made these remarks when met by reporters after a prize giving ceremony at Stadium Negeri yesterday.
Fatimah said SukSar also provides a platform for para athletes to test their strength and identify their weaknesses so they can undergo a specific training programme.
“I thank Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) and its director Dr Ong Kong Swee for all their hard work to make sure that all the athletes will have the chance to compete and to see how they perform so that they can go further in bigger sporting events,” she added.
“This type of event is a good venue for identifying backup athletes and to achieve our goals of becoming Sukma (Sukan Malaysia) and Paralympic games champions in the future,” Fatimah said.
“We cannot just rely on the current batch of athletes, we must also have backups and new talents.”
Fatimah also thanked the athletes’ parents for their sacrifices and supports, adding that the state government had always recognised the parents’ efforts in helping their children in achieving their dreams and ambitions.
“It is good that the parents are with their children in events like this and to provide them with the motivation during the competition,” she said.