06/11/1998
HIDAYAT Hamidon and Matin Guntali will be the only Malaysian lifters at
the Bangkok Asian Games next month because the Malaysian Weightlifting
Federation (MWF) had decided not to appeal.
The MWF submitted three names to the Olympic Council of Malaysia for the
Asian Games but only two lifters, who won a total of one gold one silver
and three bronzes at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, received the
green light.
Abdul Rahman was dropped.
"We did not make an appeal because we thought that the two lifters and
coach Slava Lelikov will suffice for the Asian Games challenge," said MWF
secretary Lt Com Kamaruzaman Kadir.
Coach Willaim Yeo, who feels that more lifters should have been exposed,
is nevertheless happy that OCM selectors selected two.
Hidayat in the 69kg and Matin in 54kg are not medal prospects at the
Asian Games because Chinese and Japanese lifters who hold the majority of
the world records will be the ones to beat in Bangkok.
"It would be very tough to win medals in Bangkok but a top six finish is
within the reach of the duo," said Yeo.
"They will attempt to better their world ranking and maybe crack a few
national records."
Meanwhile, the proposal by the International Weightlifting Federation
(IWF) to promote malaysia as a centre of excellence in South-East Asia
will be further discussed in Bangkok.
"IWF secretary Dr Tamas Ajan will be one of the technical officials at
the Asian Games and we will pursue the matter further," said Kamaruzaman.
The IWF offer was made after Hidayat and Matin impressed during the
Commonwealth Games.
The IWF will pay for the coaches at the centre and lifters will also be
paid an allowance.
Malaysia on their part will have to get weightlifters from around the
region and provide a training venue for the twice-a-year training
sessions.
Weightlifters from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and
neighbouring countries would benefit from the month-long training.
(END)
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Zakaria: Two-gold target realistic for Asiad
07/11/1998
MOST of the athletes for the Asian Games in Bangkok checked into the
National Sports Council (NSC) hostel in Bukit Jalil for a three-day
orientation course yesterday on a sombre note.
Although only a handful openly admitted it, the feeling that medals will
be hard to win in Bangkok hung over them.
Chef-de-mission Dr Zakaria Ahmad confirmed it with his two-gold target.
"We will have to be happy with just two golds from Bangkok because the
standard is very much higher than the Commonwealth Games where Malaysia
won 10 golds," said Zakaria.
"The athletes and the public need to be told this early so that they
will not expect too much at Asian Games level."
Zakaria came up with the target after meeting team managers of the 18
sports that will feature in Bangkok but his target is two golds off the
Olympic Council of Malaysia's and the Sports Minister's count.
The 130-strong Malaysian contingent will find it tough against athletes
from China, South Korea and Japan.
Their likely chance of upset medals are from squash, bowling and
badminton.
G. Shanti was one of the athletes who checked in yesterday and when she
was approached, her comment was: "I have nothing to say about the Asian
Games."
Zakaria said the athletes will gather again on Nov 22 for centralised
training but they will still be allowed to undergo their training
programmes.
"In a sense, this will be a very `loose' centralised training," said
Zakaria.
(END)
MOST of the athletes for the Asian Games in Bangkok checked into the
National Sports Council (NSC) hostel in Bukit Jalil for a three-day
orientation course yesterday on a sombre note.
Although only a handful openly admitted it, the feeling that medals will
be hard to win in Bangkok hung over them.
Chef-de-mission Dr Zakaria Ahmad confirmed it with his two-gold target.
"We will have to be happy with just two golds from Bangkok because the
standard is very much higher than the Commonwealth Games where Malaysia
won 10 golds," said Zakaria.
"The athletes and the public need to be told this early so that they
will not expect too much at Asian Games level."
Zakaria came up with the target after meeting team managers of the 18
sports that will feature in Bangkok but his target is two golds off the
Olympic Council of Malaysia's and the Sports Minister's count.
The 130-strong Malaysian contingent will find it tough against athletes
from China, South Korea and Japan.
Their likely chance of upset medals are from squash, bowling and
badminton.
G. Shanti was one of the athletes who checked in yesterday and when she
was approached, her comment was: "I have nothing to say about the Asian
Games."
Zakaria said the athletes will gather again on Nov 22 for centralised
training but they will still be allowed to undergo their training
programmes.
"In a sense, this will be a very `loose' centralised training," said
Zakaria.
(END)
Azar elected EAM president
08/11/1998
BUSINESSMAN Mohamed Azar Ismail was elected president of the Equestrian
Association of Malaysia (EAM) at their annual general meeting at the Bukit
Kiara Equestrian Club yesterday.
He beat former vice-president Fathil Mahmood, a founder member, 51-23.
Azar thanked Tan Sri Musa Hitam, who led EAM since 1993, for putting the
association on a strong footing before.
"Now that the elections are over, all club members must work closely to
help develop young talent," said Azar.
EAM, said, Azar, will focus on the 2006 Asian Games which Malaysia hope
to host.
Azar, who is the director of the Gallops Ranch near Putra Jaya, is
especially keen on junior development.
"In a nutshell, our main task will be to produce a six-year masterplan
to prepare for the 2006 Asian Games," he said.
Musa was appointed honorary member of the EAM.
Office Bearers - President: Mohamed Azar Ismail; Vice- president: Abdul
Razak Latif; Secretary: Lau Choo Seng; Assistant secretary: Suhaimi
Shamsuddin; Treasurer: Asraff Deva Mohamad Ali; Committee members: Dr
Samsul Kamal, Maj Saufi Zakaria, Dr Bashir Ahmad, Omar Abdullah, Dr K.
Bala, Bakar Effendie, Yusuf Lazim.
(END)
BUSINESSMAN Mohamed Azar Ismail was elected president of the Equestrian
Association of Malaysia (EAM) at their annual general meeting at the Bukit
Kiara Equestrian Club yesterday.
He beat former vice-president Fathil Mahmood, a founder member, 51-23.
Azar thanked Tan Sri Musa Hitam, who led EAM since 1993, for putting the
association on a strong footing before.
"Now that the elections are over, all club members must work closely to
help develop young talent," said Azar.
EAM, said, Azar, will focus on the 2006 Asian Games which Malaysia hope
to host.
Azar, who is the director of the Gallops Ranch near Putra Jaya, is
especially keen on junior development.
"In a nutshell, our main task will be to produce a six-year masterplan
to prepare for the 2006 Asian Games," he said.
Musa was appointed honorary member of the EAM.
Office Bearers - President: Mohamed Azar Ismail; Vice- president: Abdul
Razak Latif; Secretary: Lau Choo Seng; Assistant secretary: Suhaimi
Shamsuddin; Treasurer: Asraff Deva Mohamad Ali; Committee members: Dr
Samsul Kamal, Maj Saufi Zakaria, Dr Bashir Ahmad, Omar Abdullah, Dr K.
Bala, Bakar Effendie, Yusuf Lazim.
(END)
`Stricter criteria needed'
09/11/1998
THE National Sports Council (NSC) are keen to have a stricter selection
criteria for future national assignments and will ask that the Olympic
Council of Malaysia (OCM) prepare new guidelines.
NSC director-general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad said since Malaysia will be
bidding to host the 2006 Asian Games as well as the 2008 Olympics, the
selection criteria for athletes must be raised from the current third-
placing requirement to achieve better results.
"We hope to have the new guidelines ready by January so that the
athletes preparing for the Brunei Sea Games can start preparing early,"
said Mazlan.
"For Brunei, the criteria will not be the third-placing mark achieved at
the last Sea Games in Jakarta but we will use the Bangkok Asian Games as a
yardstick."
Mazlan was not willing to go into the details of the plan but assured
that it would be a competitive mark and even if only a handful are
selected, it would be fine with NSC.
"We need to think bigger and stop using the Sea Games results as
guideline. After finishing fourth overall at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth
Games, we need to set higher standards," said Mazlan after closing the
three-day motivational camp for the Asian Games athletes at Bukit Jalil.
"The Bangkok-bound contingent of 139 athletes will be the crucial test
to see if we are ready to be a sports power in selected sports and justify
the amount of money and time spent on athletes."
Mazlan then ticked off sports associations who did not bother to send
their athletes to the motivational camp.
A group of athletes who sneaked out of camp after registering were also
warned.
"When they need money and help, they (associations) approach NSC and OCM
but when we organise courses to motivate them, they don't bother to
attend. These associations and athletes will be the biggest losers because
when they approach us for whatever assistance next time, we might not be
willing to accommodate them."
The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) were one of the
associations who did not send cyclists Nor Affendy Rosli, Shahrulneeza
Rusli and Mahadzir Hamad to attend the three-day camp.
Also absent without reason were squash players Leong Siu Lynn and Nicol
David.
The national badminton squad went one step further by registering on the
first day and then sneaking out of the camp with the exception of Roslin
Hashim.
(END)
THE National Sports Council (NSC) are keen to have a stricter selection
criteria for future national assignments and will ask that the Olympic
Council of Malaysia (OCM) prepare new guidelines.
NSC director-general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad said since Malaysia will be
bidding to host the 2006 Asian Games as well as the 2008 Olympics, the
selection criteria for athletes must be raised from the current third-
placing requirement to achieve better results.
"We hope to have the new guidelines ready by January so that the
athletes preparing for the Brunei Sea Games can start preparing early,"
said Mazlan.
"For Brunei, the criteria will not be the third-placing mark achieved at
the last Sea Games in Jakarta but we will use the Bangkok Asian Games as a
yardstick."
Mazlan was not willing to go into the details of the plan but assured
that it would be a competitive mark and even if only a handful are
selected, it would be fine with NSC.
"We need to think bigger and stop using the Sea Games results as
guideline. After finishing fourth overall at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth
Games, we need to set higher standards," said Mazlan after closing the
three-day motivational camp for the Asian Games athletes at Bukit Jalil.
"The Bangkok-bound contingent of 139 athletes will be the crucial test
to see if we are ready to be a sports power in selected sports and justify
the amount of money and time spent on athletes."
Mazlan then ticked off sports associations who did not bother to send
their athletes to the motivational camp.
A group of athletes who sneaked out of camp after registering were also
warned.
"When they need money and help, they (associations) approach NSC and OCM
but when we organise courses to motivate them, they don't bother to
attend. These associations and athletes will be the biggest losers because
when they approach us for whatever assistance next time, we might not be
willing to accommodate them."
The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) were one of the
associations who did not send cyclists Nor Affendy Rosli, Shahrulneeza
Rusli and Mahadzir Hamad to attend the three-day camp.
Also absent without reason were squash players Leong Siu Lynn and Nicol
David.
The national badminton squad went one step further by registering on the
first day and then sneaking out of the camp with the exception of Roslin
Hashim.
(END)
Blanket criterion for selection needs a review
10/11/1998
THE National Sports Council's (NSC) push for a fixed qualifying standard
for all major sports events is not a viable solution to lift sport in
Malaysia.
Chances of a backfire in the long run loom large.
The current practice of making certain, usually third, placings in the
last edition as the criterion would be assigned to the history books if
NSC's proposal is accepted by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
NSC director-general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad is not keen on a regression
after the euphoria of the 10 gold medals won at the KL Commonwealth Games.
"We must look forward since we will be bidding to host the 2006 Asian
Games and the 2008 Olympics. We hope to have the new guidelines ready by
January so the athletes preparing for the Brunei Sea Games can start
preparing early," he said on Sunday.
(OCM secretary Sieh Kok Chi is overseas and not available for comment).
If and when the plan is initiated, the biggest losers will be the
`minor' sports struggling to make a name in the international arena.
Sports like badminton, bowling, squash and hockey have qualified for a
number of major international events over the years and some have even
brought home fame and a handful of gold medals. They started from the
bottom, somebody gave them a break and they progressed steadily over the
years.
Something the new criterion will not grant.
NSC will set up a special task force to look into establishing a clear
guideline for the selection of Malaysian athletes for the Olympics,
Commonwealth Games, Asiad and Sea Games.
For a start, the criterion to make the Brunei Sea Games will be based on
a fair standard achieved at the Bangkok Asian Games, which might just be a
mite unfair to a large number of sports.
If the new criterion is implemented in January, as suggested by Mazlan,
athletics, basketball, table-tennis, cycling, gymnastics, weightlifting,
swimming ... and an endless number of associations will surely be at
loggerheads with the OCM selection committee when the time comes to select
the Brunei Sea Games contingent.
And some of these sports were the ones that contributed medals at the
Jakarta Sea Games. Athletics, for one, contributed 16 golds to the
Malaysian tally but when the stricter selection criterion comes to effect,
some of the previous medal winners might find themselves shut out for
good.
This goes to show how important the Sea Games is as a morale-booster for
sports struggling to gain popularity. Here, they have a chance of winning
medals and gaining experience. Hence the need to have different selection
standards for each international assignment and not have a blanket rule
which may suffocate a few associations in the long run.
There must be some form of quality control, but at the same time there
must be fairness in the selection criterion so as not to demoralise the
athletes. The task force must establish a transparent qualifying standard
with a certain time frame so that athletes will have ample time to
prepare.
There are also numerous questions to be answered before stampeding
headlong into the guidelines to be formulated by the NSC task force.
For instance, how and when will the athletes be selected? Will the task
force suggest to the OCM to judge by their current form or would the
athletes' past performance be considered good enough?
If the past if good enough, how many years can the mark be used to
select athletes? One or two years before the event may be too long a time
frame, so do we have proper selection trials?
National jumper Loo Kum Zee leapt to a national mark of 2.24m at the
1995 Chiangmai Sea Games but since then, has yet to come close to the
mark. Is it still a valid mark?
If yes, the 20.92s clocked by Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan in 1968, which
still stands as the 200m national record, should be a valid criterion if
Jegathesan suddenly decides to represent Malaysia at the 2006 Asian Games
and the 2008 Olympics.
(END)
THE National Sports Council's (NSC) push for a fixed qualifying standard
for all major sports events is not a viable solution to lift sport in
Malaysia.
Chances of a backfire in the long run loom large.
The current practice of making certain, usually third, placings in the
last edition as the criterion would be assigned to the history books if
NSC's proposal is accepted by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
NSC director-general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad is not keen on a regression
after the euphoria of the 10 gold medals won at the KL Commonwealth Games.
"We must look forward since we will be bidding to host the 2006 Asian
Games and the 2008 Olympics. We hope to have the new guidelines ready by
January so the athletes preparing for the Brunei Sea Games can start
preparing early," he said on Sunday.
(OCM secretary Sieh Kok Chi is overseas and not available for comment).
If and when the plan is initiated, the biggest losers will be the
`minor' sports struggling to make a name in the international arena.
Sports like badminton, bowling, squash and hockey have qualified for a
number of major international events over the years and some have even
brought home fame and a handful of gold medals. They started from the
bottom, somebody gave them a break and they progressed steadily over the
years.
Something the new criterion will not grant.
NSC will set up a special task force to look into establishing a clear
guideline for the selection of Malaysian athletes for the Olympics,
Commonwealth Games, Asiad and Sea Games.
For a start, the criterion to make the Brunei Sea Games will be based on
a fair standard achieved at the Bangkok Asian Games, which might just be a
mite unfair to a large number of sports.
If the new criterion is implemented in January, as suggested by Mazlan,
athletics, basketball, table-tennis, cycling, gymnastics, weightlifting,
swimming ... and an endless number of associations will surely be at
loggerheads with the OCM selection committee when the time comes to select
the Brunei Sea Games contingent.
And some of these sports were the ones that contributed medals at the
Jakarta Sea Games. Athletics, for one, contributed 16 golds to the
Malaysian tally but when the stricter selection criterion comes to effect,
some of the previous medal winners might find themselves shut out for
good.
This goes to show how important the Sea Games is as a morale-booster for
sports struggling to gain popularity. Here, they have a chance of winning
medals and gaining experience. Hence the need to have different selection
standards for each international assignment and not have a blanket rule
which may suffocate a few associations in the long run.
There must be some form of quality control, but at the same time there
must be fairness in the selection criterion so as not to demoralise the
athletes. The task force must establish a transparent qualifying standard
with a certain time frame so that athletes will have ample time to
prepare.
There are also numerous questions to be answered before stampeding
headlong into the guidelines to be formulated by the NSC task force.
For instance, how and when will the athletes be selected? Will the task
force suggest to the OCM to judge by their current form or would the
athletes' past performance be considered good enough?
If the past if good enough, how many years can the mark be used to
select athletes? One or two years before the event may be too long a time
frame, so do we have proper selection trials?
National jumper Loo Kum Zee leapt to a national mark of 2.24m at the
1995 Chiangmai Sea Games but since then, has yet to come close to the
mark. Is it still a valid mark?
If yes, the 20.92s clocked by Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan in 1968, which
still stands as the 200m national record, should be a valid criterion if
Jegathesan suddenly decides to represent Malaysia at the 2006 Asian Games
and the 2008 Olympics.
(END)
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