MELAKA: The Melaka Sepak Takraw Association (Pastam) will organise a closed tournament for the Melaka Chief Minister’s Cup to unearth new talented players who can be groomed to represent Melaka at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak.
Pastam chairman Datuk Akramuddin Abdul Aziz said the tournament is expected to take place in July and comprise two age categories, namely under-21 and over-21.
“For the under-21 category, we focus on choosing the best young players to form a strong squad ahead of next year’s Sukma.
“I have already met the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh) regarding this matter and he has agreed, in fact the paperwork has been prepared. The Melaka State Sports Council (MSN) has also been informed and agreed to hold the tournament,” he said here on Tuesday (22 May).
Earlier, he attended the Melaka Titans’ Introduction of Players for the 2023 Sepak Takraw League (STL) which was officiated by the state exco for Youth, Sports and NGOs V.P. Shanmugam.
Akramuddin said Pastam will also work with the state Education Department to find new talent in schools in an effort to unearth quality players.
In the meantime, he welcomed the Youth and Sports Ministry’s suggestion to reinstate sepak takraw as a core sport again.
“I fully support the desire to reinstate sepak takraw as a core sport and believe that this initiative by the Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh will be able to improve the performance and unearth potential players,” he said.
The media had reported that Hannah expressed hope that the NSC, after taking into account the performance of the sepak takraw squad at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games that won four silvers and four bronze medals, may reconsider the sport’s inclusion.
For the record, sepak takraw along with weightlifting and taekwondo were the three sports dropped by the National Sports Council (NSC) from the list of national core sports in 2017.
The decision follows poor performances and lack of improvement based on a review, which included an in-depth study of the performances of the three sports since 2007. – Bernama
