The National Sports Council (NSC) maintains its stance that athletes eligible to compete in the Olympic Games cannot participate in Sukma.
Speaking to Scoop, NSC deputy director-general Jefri Ngadirin cautioned states against considering appeals to allow their athletes, seen as potential gold medal contributors, to compete in the Sarawak Sukma in August.
Last Saturday, Malaysia’s contingent received joyful news as the national recurve women’s archery team, comprising Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil and Syaqiera Mashayikh, became the latest athletes to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
They made history as Malaysia’s first recurve women’s archery team to qualify for the world’s largest sporting event.
However, this also means the dreams of two archers, Ariana and Azreena, to represent their respective states, the Federal Territories and Selangor, in the Sarawak Sukma in August will dissolve due to their imminent status as Olympians.
Moreover, Perak may have to forgo plans to list track star Muhammad Azeem Fahmi if he qualifies on merit or secures a wild card slot for Paris.
“This time, the Sarawak Sukma will be held after the Paris Olympics, and Sukma regulations clearly state that any athlete representing the country in the Olympics cannot compete in Sukma. This rule has been firmly established.
“Let’s not forget there’s still the SEA Games in Thailand next year, where Ariana and her teammates have the potential to contribute medals for Malaysia. We need to prioritise the country’s interests,” Jefri told Scoop.
This is not new. When Syaqiera unexpectedly qualified for the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, she was subsequently dropped from Johor’s team for Sukma 2022.
Similarly, the sprint queen of Sukma 2018, Azreen Nabila Alias, was unable to defend her three gold medals at Sukma 2022 as she had competed in the Tokyo Olympics on a wild card.
At that time, Johor and Terengganu had already appealed to the Sukma supreme committee chaired by then-youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, but their appeals were rejected.
Sukma serves as a platform for exposing young athletes with the potential to shine and make a name for themselves.
Therefore, Jefri suggests that states strive towards producing more young athletes to have a pool of promising talent for upcoming editions of Sukma.
“We urge the development at the state level to be enhanced so that more athletes like Ariana can be produced, and we do not rely on just one athlete to contribute gold medals.
“This is a regulation that has been set, and we cannot simply change it. We will have to wait for the next edition of Sukma to make any changes,” he added.
