The Sukma is nearing its end. The event from which many great athletes—Watson Nyambek, Nazmizan Mohd, duh—were born has garnered a lot of interest from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as from the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
Interest? Why would they suddenly be interested in the games? It is largely because the quality of the athletes have declined—gravely I presumed.
Reports have shown that results and timings for most events have been mediocre. Err, wasn’t that the case for most of the time?
My question is, why now? Why now you have realized that our Games have not been producing great talents to supply us with medals and honour at international level?
Then, comes the question of whether Sukma is still relevant. Is it? Some quarters are saying that Cari Champion is enough and spending about RM20 million for Sukma is just a waste. Personally, I think Sukma is still relevant. Even it does not produce great talents. You see, sport should be and is regarded as a lifestyle for some. For regular jocks like me to be in the ‘lampu minyak tanah’ limelight—compared to a floodlight—for a while, it is relevant.
Sukma shouldn’t be the only stage to cari champions. There should be other ways in doing it. And, lest we forget, we also have MSSM and MASUM to unearth rare talents. Unless, MSSM and MASUM are not opening their eyes wide enough.
And oh, I just got myself a new pair of Brooks. Haha.
13 years ago
