SELANGOR: Sarawak’s water polo programme is riding high after both its men’s and women’s teams won gold at SUKMA XXII, with Amateur Swimming Association of Sarawak (ASAS) president Pemanca Tan Kun Gee calling for greater support to build on the breakthrough.
The women’s team secured a historic gold after defeating hosts Selangor 12-10 in the final, while the men’s side completed the double with a 9-6 victory over the same opponents at the Darul Ehsan Aquatic Centre here today (Aug 17).
Tan, who is also Sarawak’s water polo assistant chef de mission (ACDM), said he was delighted with the results but stressed that the achievement should be a springboard for further development.
“I’m very happy, but I still have some more coming up — diving, swimming and ping pong. Tomorrow I’m going for the other three events. Hopefully I can get more,” he said.
He also expressed his appreciation to Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) and Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) for the support provided to the state’s water polo programme.
“We felt their support. Without the support from SSC, MSNS, we couldn’t have made it today. We couldn’t have made it this well,” he said.
Tan believes the success of both teams can help raise the profile of water polo in Sarawak and attract greater attention to the sport.
“Yes, of course. We hope there will be more support from the government to help us develop the sport further,” he said.
Meanwhile, ASAS technical director and Sarawak men’s water polo head coach Voon Yong Hui said the success was the result of a development programme that began in 2022.
“All this thing, they started in 2022. Start until now,” he said.
Voon said the programme focused heavily on junior competitions, giving young players valuable exposure and experience while developing a pathway towards higher-level competition.
“They attended quite a number of junior competitions and they won MSSM, the age group. They won quite a lot of competitions,” he said.
The back-to-back gold medals mark a significant milestone for Sarawak water polo, with the programme now looking to build on its SUKMA success and develop more players for future competitions.
