Sim: Dual-career path in store to keep athletes worry-free

KUALA LUMPUR: A dual-career path for athletes is in the works, according to the Youth and Sports Ministry.

Deputy minister Steven Sim (pic) said the pilot project would give athletes the option to take up jobs at public or private firms as they pursue their athletic careers.

“The aim is to ensure athletes are not in a dilemma where they have to choose between a career in sports and a job, and not to worry about their future after retirement,” said Steven.

“We want athletes to be worry free and not think about what will happen to them if they get injures or if they don’t win a medal.

“We want to give them a worry-free environment where they can fully focus on the court, and this may improve the psychological aspect of the athletes,” said Steven, after visiting the national players during their morning training ses- sion at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) yesterday.

He hopes to send the first batch of athletes for the project by next year.

Having already conducted a focus group at the National Sports Council (NSC) among several randomly selected athletes and coaches, he said that 90% of them had welcomed the idea of the programme.

“The details will be refined, but we have talked to some of the private companies and they’re also receptive to the idea. At the start of the project, we may just have about 10 private companies.

“We’re also working on another initiative which is to widen the medical coverage for the athletes and ex-athletes.

“We want to see the holistic development of the players. It’s not just about winning medals, this is what I wanted to tell the players here today, about these initiatives,” he added.