The Sultanate is sending a contingent of 61 athletes to compete in the upcoming 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2024, to be held in Sarawak, Malaysia from August 17 to 24.
The athletes will be competing in 11 sporting events, such as aquatics, athletics, chess, e-sports, fencing, karate, pencak silat, netball, sepak takraw, taekwondo and wushu.
A national flag handover ceremony for the Brunei contingent took place yesterday at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) building.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad was present as guest of honour and handed over the flag to the chef de mission of the Brunei contingent Haji Mohamad Rosfazilah bin Haji Yusly.
The minister in his remarks, called on all sports associations and national coaches to frequently review and ensure effectiveness of their training programmes to unearth new talents to succeed the current elite athletes.
He also said, “Athletes are required to display high discipline and commitment by attending training to further improve their skills and competitiveness.”
The minister congratulated the selected athletes, adding “The selection is a result of hard work and commitment from athletes to their scheduled training. Therefore, athletes should be able to give their best against other competitors.”
He said, “There are 15,000 athletes and officials from Malaysia and Brunei who will be participating in the games. This is an excellent sports platform for rising young athletes to showcase their skills and compete at the regional level.”
The minister also urged athletes to showcase a spirit of healthy competition against other athletes, stay disciplined, give full cooperation to the organisers and avoid taking prohibited substances at the risk of suspension or removed from the event.
Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary (Sports) at the MCYS Pengiran Mohd Amirrizal bin Pengiran Haji Mahmud, in his welcoming remarks, said with the opportunity given to compete in Sukma, he hopes the athletes will continue to be committed to undergoing training provided by coaches in an effort to perform their best during the competition and secure medals.
He also reminded the athletes to always exhibit good sportsmanship and high competitive spirit during the event and comply with its regulations.
Pengiran Mohd Amirrizal also revealed the locations for each sporting event, that aquatics, e-sports, athletics, taekwondo and wushu will be held in Kuching, netball in Mukah, chess will be in Samarahan, sepak takraw will be in Bintulu, and karate, fencing and pencak silat in Miri.
Also present at the ceremony were First Secretary of the High Commission of Malaysia in Brunei Darussalam Tengku Muhammad Faiz bin Tengku Sulaiman and Permanent Secretary (Community) at the MCYS Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari, along with the members of the executive committee for the selection and assessment of national athletes as well as parents of the athletes. – James Kon
