Publication : MM
Date : 17/03/2006
Headline : Nothing less than the best will do
MALAYSIA'S Melbourne Commonwealth Games campaign started with a bang
yesterday with Mohd Faisal Baharom lifting the nation's first of the
targeted 11 gold medals in the 56kg category yesterday.
Gold is great but our athletes must also realise there are loftier
goals they should strive for - personal bests and even Games records, for
instance.
Raising the bar should help motivate our sportsmen to rise to greater
heights and be recognised internationally.
Athletes from the elite AsiaComm 2006 project and the Gemilang 2006
programme have a lot at stake.
The AsiaComm squad comprises 145 of the nation's best athletes who are
expected to win medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Doha Asian Games
in December, while the Gemilang 2006 squad comprises mainly back-up
athletes.
The Games in Melbourne, with a strong international field competing,
serves as a timely check on the progress of these athletes.
While badminton and squash players have been busy with international
assignments since the beginning of the year, Melbourne is the first major
meet for many others.
Much money has been invested in these athletes and it is their duty to
prove they are heading in the right direction.
While the athletes will be watched closely, we should also keep tabs on
the coaches, especially the many foreigners hired to guide our men and
women.
Malaysia's Cabinet Committee for Sports has approved RM68 million to
develop and prepare elite athletes for the eight core sports - aquatics,
athletics, badminton, bowling, gymnastics, football, hockey and squash.
Another RM125 million has been set aside for mass sports. This is how
serious the Government is about sports.
The Government has even decided to convert its rubber research facility
in England to a High Performance Training Centre.
Malaysian athletes are a blessed lot but they are often guilty of
taking things for granted.
It is hoped that at the end of the Games on March 26, the Malaysian
contingent will return with the euphoria they raised when they won 61
gold medals at the Philippines SEA Games in December. Perhaps with less
medals but with the consolation that they were won against much tougher
opposition.
On that note, I also hope the hockey team who play India today, start
on a winning note and go on to at least match their silver medal effort
from the last Games.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) deserve a pat on the back for
having come up with the comprehensive 'Wawasan Hoki Negara' - National
Hockey Vision - to see the national team win the gold medal in Doha and
reach at least the semifinals in the World Cup in 2014 and win a Olympic
medal in 2016.
Basically, the Vision is to raise the standard and standing of the
domestic game, introduce new tournaments and restructure existing ones.
The objective is to produce consistently high-performance teams,
deliver sustained results to propel the nation to the highest sporting
glory.
MHF are among the "early birds" among the eight core sports to come up
with this programme and it shows their seriousness to repay the
Government's faith in them.
MHF created another first in 1992 when they set up the 'Yayasan Hoki
Malaysia' (Malaysian Hockey Foundation) whose aim was to award
scholarships and grant financial assistance to players, make payments
under the MHF Retirement Benefit Scheme and make welfare contributions.
Up until 2004, 31 ex-national players had benefited from the retirement
scheme while 22 players had the opportunity to further their studies at
the tertiary level.
If more sports associations follow MHF's footsteps, it would only be a
matter of time before Malaysian sports raises itself to the highest
pedestals in world sports.
MALAYSIA'S Melbourne Commonwealth Games campaign started with a bang
yesterday with Mohd Faisal Baharom lifting the nation's first of the
targeted 11 gold medals in the 56kg category yesterday.
Gold is great but our athletes must also realise there are loftier
goals they should strive for - personal bests and even Games records, for
instance.
Raising the bar should help motivate our sportsmen to rise to greater
heights and be recognised internationally.
Athletes from the elite AsiaComm 2006 project and the Gemilang 2006
programme have a lot at stake.
The AsiaComm squad comprises 145 of the nation's best athletes who are
expected to win medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Doha Asian Games
in December, while the Gemilang 2006 squad comprises mainly back-up
athletes.
The Games in Melbourne, with a strong international field competing,
serves as a timely check on the progress of these athletes.
While badminton and squash players have been busy with international
assignments since the beginning of the year, Melbourne is the first major
meet for many others.
Much money has been invested in these athletes and it is their duty to
prove they are heading in the right direction.
While the athletes will be watched closely, we should also keep tabs on
the coaches, especially the many foreigners hired to guide our men and
women.
Malaysia's Cabinet Committee for Sports has approved RM68 million to
develop and prepare elite athletes for the eight core sports - aquatics,
athletics, badminton, bowling, gymnastics, football, hockey and squash.
Another RM125 million has been set aside for mass sports. This is how
serious the Government is about sports.
The Government has even decided to convert its rubber research facility
in England to a High Performance Training Centre.
Malaysian athletes are a blessed lot but they are often guilty of
taking things for granted.
It is hoped that at the end of the Games on March 26, the Malaysian
contingent will return with the euphoria they raised when they won 61
gold medals at the Philippines SEA Games in December. Perhaps with less
medals but with the consolation that they were won against much tougher
opposition.
On that note, I also hope the hockey team who play India today, start
on a winning note and go on to at least match their silver medal effort
from the last Games.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) deserve a pat on the back for
having come up with the comprehensive 'Wawasan Hoki Negara' - National
Hockey Vision - to see the national team win the gold medal in Doha and
reach at least the semifinals in the World Cup in 2014 and win a Olympic
medal in 2016.
Basically, the Vision is to raise the standard and standing of the
domestic game, introduce new tournaments and restructure existing ones.
The objective is to produce consistently high-performance teams,
deliver sustained results to propel the nation to the highest sporting
glory.
MHF are among the "early birds" among the eight core sports to come up
with this programme and it shows their seriousness to repay the
Government's faith in them.
MHF created another first in 1992 when they set up the 'Yayasan Hoki
Malaysia' (Malaysian Hockey Foundation) whose aim was to award
scholarships and grant financial assistance to players, make payments
under the MHF Retirement Benefit Scheme and make welfare contributions.
Up until 2004, 31 ex-national players had benefited from the retirement
scheme while 22 players had the opportunity to further their studies at
the tertiary level.
If more sports associations follow MHF's footsteps, it would only be a
matter of time before Malaysian sports raises itself to the highest
pedestals in world sports.
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