THE Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development is actively looking into hosting the Southeast Asean (SEA) Obstacle Sports Championship in Kuching from Sept 4 to 6.
Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said with growing interest among Malaysian youth, fueled by the success of Malaysian Obstacle Race athletes in the recent Sea Games, Sarawak aims to capitalise on this momentum by establishing a training centre in Kuching, potentially making it a hub for developing champion Obstacle Race athletes.
In addition to obstacle sports, he said during his winding up speech on Tuesday that the ministry is also focusing on the development of e-sports in Sarawak.
“Collaborating with the Sarawak E-Sports Association (SESA), various initiatives have been undertaken to create platforms for e-sports development, including organising competitions and development programs.
“Recently, the Sarawak E-Sports Expo 2023 held in Kuching from March 16 to 19 was a major success, attracting 1,630 participants from both national and international backgrounds.
“Furthermore, plans are underway to organise a physical and virtual Sarawak E-Sports Competition in July, showcasing the commitment to nurturing talent and producing future champions in the field of e-sports,” he said
He said the recent achievement of Sarawakian athlete Nabil Nazaruddin, who won a bronze medal in the PUBG Team event category at the 32nd Sea Games in Cambodia, is a testament to the success of Sarawak’s talent development programme in e-sports.
“To further promote sports and engage the local community, the ministry, in collaboration with the Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Negeri Sarawak (JBS), has planned five programmes with 19 activities in the first half of 2023.
“These programmes, including Sport Stacking Challenges, Fit @ Community, KLAS (Swimming), Inspire I-Talent, and Synergy Inspire, aim to involve a total of 350,770 local participants.”
Sarawak’s strategic collaborations and initiatives in obstacle sports, e-sports, and community engagement reflect the region’s commitment to nurturing talent, fostering sportsmanship, and positioning itself as a prominent destination for sports development in Southeast Asia, he added.
