Dato Sri Anil Jeet Singh
KOTA KINABALU: The Youth and Sports Ministry has been urged to facilitate Covid-19 vaccination for state athletes and coaches, especially those involved in the Malaysia Games (Sukma).
Sabah Hockey Association (SHA) president Dato Sri Anil Jeet Singh, in making the call on Monday, said this was to ensure training and preparation for the delayed 20th Sukma can be conducted smoothly.
“We are urging the minister Datuk Ellron Angin to push for all state athletes to get their Covid-19 vaccination.
“The vaccinations will certainly be a huge motivation for the state athletes and their coaches to continue training even harder,” he said.
Anil also called on the minister to look into the standard operating procedure (SOPs) for sports, and find the best possible ways for the state athletes to be able to return to training.
He said in the case of hockey, the association is not only preparing teams for Sukma but also the Razak Cup and Malaysia Junior Hockey League in November and December respectively.
Anil, who is also vice president of Malaysian Hockey Confederation, said the two national tournaments at the end of the year were crucial in their bid to achieve the desired results in Sukma next year.
“We (SHA) want to prepare the state teams because in the last Sukma, we won the women’s gold and men’s silver in hockey.
“We want to maintain (the performance) and it is not easy,” added Anil who is also chairman of MHC Competitions Committee.
Anil revealed they have been trying to meet up and discuss with the minister on their current predicament but have been unsuccessful.
“We have been trying to set an appointment to meet him to brief and discuss about the problem we are facing in the last three months but until now our request has been denied.
“We certainly need to find the best possible way to get sports activities in Sabah going … if it is too late then things will become tougher for the state teams to face the challenges in the upcoming Sukma,” he stressed.
Anil who is also Malaysian Hockey Confederation vice president, called on the minister to give the state associations the annual grants so that they can make their planning.
For the record, Johor will host the the 20th edition of the country’s premier multi-sport event, which has been postponed to 2022 from its original schedule in July 2020.
However, other details have yet to be decided, including the date or even a possible relaxation of the rules and regulations on the delayed Sukma.