KUCHING: Sarawak is disappointed with the decision to drop the women’s diving event from the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 16-24.
Youth Development, Sports and Entrepreneurship Minister, Datuk Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the decision by the Sukma technical committee should be reconsidered.
He said the government and divers have invested a lot of time, energy and money in the development of the sport.
“The Sukma ruling is that there must be at least six state contingents participating in an event.
“The athletes involved have trained hard, how will they and their parents feel if they can’t participate at the last minute?”, he asked.
Towards this end he said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu should use his discretion to maintain the event in the competition.
“This event has given Malaysia a name in the Olympics and the SEA Games.
“This decision will slow down the development of diving in our country”, he stressed.
Five women’s diving disciplines were dropped from Sukma for failing to meet the minimum number of participating state contingents.
It affects the 1m springboard, 3m springboard, 10m platform, 3m rhythmic springboard and 10m rhythmic platform events.
Sarawak is the powerhouse of national diving sports and has produced world-class divers.
Among the household names in diving are Datuk Pandelela Rinong Pamg, Traisy Vivien Tukiet, Kimberly Bong and Bryan Nickson Lomas.
