KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (NSC) is targeting 70 per cent of national athletes to achieve podium finishes at the Asian level by end of this year in a bid to gauge the country’s prospects of emerging as overall champions in the 2027 SEA Games, which Malaysia will host.
Its Director-General, Jefri Ngadirin, said the NSC is conducting monthly monitoring of athletes’ performances, with a review by the Performance Evaluation and Audit Committee scheduled for November to assess Malaysia’s readiness as host of the 34th edition of the biennial Games.
“If we are able to track the athletes’ progress through December and achieve the 70 per cent (phase one) target, we have the potential to aim even higher.
“Under phase two, we expect 90 per cent of our athletes to get podium finishes or rank among the top three in Asia,” he told a press conference after a sports sponsorship engagement session with national sports associations (NSAs) here today.
Meanwhile, Jefri said 28 sports, including teqball, padel, bodybuilding and kabbadi, have submiited appeals to be included in the 2027 SEA Games, scheduled to be held across four clusters – Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur.
He said the outcome of the appeals, including those submitted by other National Olympic Committees (NOCs), is expected to be announced at the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) meeting in Petaling Jaya on July 16.
For the September 18-29 SEA Games next year, Sarawak will serve as the main cluster, hosting the opening ceremony and 17 sports: aquatics, weightlifting, basketball, bowling, lawn bowls, e-sports, gymnastics, golf, cricket, archery, shooting, Muay Thai, petanque, squash, taekwondo, tennis and wushu.
The Penang cluster will host six sports: sepak takraw, snooker and billiards, judo, boxing, table tennis and floorball.
While Johor will host only football, Kuala Lumpur will stage the closing ceremony and host 14 sports: badminton, cycling (National Velodrome, Nilai), volleyball, netball, equestrian, hockey, karate, fencing, ice skating, athletics, pencak silat, sailing (Langkawi), rugby and water skiing.
In a separate development, Jefri said Malaysia’s medal target for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, to be held from July 23 to August 2, will be announced by chef-de-mission, Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz, during the national contingent’s flag handover ceremony on July 16.
On today’s engagement session with the NSAs, he said the programme was aimed at equipping them with basic knowledge and skills to secure external sponsorships and financial support for their respective associations. – BERNAMA
