SPORTS has been given a timely boost in the budget announced last week.
We are an informal group calling ourselves the Malacca Hockey Circle comprising former Malacca Hockey Association officials, coaches, umpires, players and supporters.
Our objective is to reconnect and rekindle the glory days of hockey and sports in general.
On Sept 19, we organised a get-together and honoured four greats, P. Poonendarajah, K. Balakrishnan, Wong Choon Hin and Hilary D. Cruz for their outstanding contributions and service to the state and country.
» Poonendarajah was a former Malacca High School teacher and hockey master who spotted and groomed such talents as Koh Hock Seng, Yang Siow Ming, Lim Chiow Chuan and the late Chua Boon Huat who all played in the Olympics.
» Balakrishnan was honoured for his outstanding 43 years of service to the state and country as secretary and deputy president of the Malacca Hockey Association.
» Wong Choon Hin for having played hockey in a unique double Olympics, World Cup and Asian Games.
» Hilary D'Cruz for being an international official and umpire in hockey, cricket and athletics.
During the get-together, we decided that we want to give back our knowledge and experience to the state and country as we we have yet to win an Olympic gold medal.
On National Sports Day, the sports minister lamented that only 40% of Malaysians are into sports. Why? More importantly, how do we become a sporting nation and a healthier nation?
We have been world champions in badminton and squash. Lee Chong Wei and Nicole David are ageing and do we really have anyone to take over? What has happened to the development programmes?
We finished fourth in the 1975 World Cup Hockey tournament but when was the last time we played in the World Cup and Olympics?
Terry Walsh when recently appointed as technical director by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation lamented on the imbalance and wondered why there was a dearth of Chinese and Indians players donning national colours!
Where are the Wong Choon Hin's, Yang Siow Meng's and M. Mahendran's? Let's get to the root of the problem.
The sports minister had mooted a specialised and scientific programme which is expected to see more emphasis given to producing world beaters and champions, something that has been sadly lacking due to the small pool of talent available.
This is where we believe lies the root problem. Therefore how are we going to broaden the base?
Under the RM75 million allocated for podium sports, we do hope the sports minister will consider our proposals. We have prepared a detailed paper and this are its salient points:
1. Sports to be made a national agenda as the perception of sports and health must change.
2. Let's start with every child from the age of five to 12 for a holistic plan from kindergarten to their working lives.
3. At kindergarten level itself things need to be revamped. To sum it up, children need to learn how to lead a healthy life.
4. Engaging child psychologists, nutritionists, Level 3 sports science personnel/teachers, coaches and talent scouts at grassroots level.
5. Unearthing, spotting, grooming, nurturing, developing systematically a child's progress with their teachers and parents at that level.
6. Health screening, identifying the child's strengths and weaknesses, emphasis on self-discipline and lifestyle is slowly and steadily ingrained at that level.
7. If at that level, the child is taught and guided on how to take care of himself, eat the right food, how to lead a healthy lifestyle, imbibe moral values, focus and develop his skills, his talents and to be mentally strong, we believe we will have champions in the making.
These are only the salient points.
We are ready to impart our holistic approach which if implemented will not only curb social menace but also bring about many other benefits to our beloved country and make future champions.
We urge the sports minister to engage us as we are ready to share our knowledge and experience.
Selvanathan P. Mangudi
Malacca
We are an informal group calling ourselves the Malacca Hockey Circle comprising former Malacca Hockey Association officials, coaches, umpires, players and supporters.
Our objective is to reconnect and rekindle the glory days of hockey and sports in general.
On Sept 19, we organised a get-together and honoured four greats, P. Poonendarajah, K. Balakrishnan, Wong Choon Hin and Hilary D. Cruz for their outstanding contributions and service to the state and country.
» Poonendarajah was a former Malacca High School teacher and hockey master who spotted and groomed such talents as Koh Hock Seng, Yang Siow Ming, Lim Chiow Chuan and the late Chua Boon Huat who all played in the Olympics.
» Balakrishnan was honoured for his outstanding 43 years of service to the state and country as secretary and deputy president of the Malacca Hockey Association.
» Wong Choon Hin for having played hockey in a unique double Olympics, World Cup and Asian Games.
» Hilary D'Cruz for being an international official and umpire in hockey, cricket and athletics.
During the get-together, we decided that we want to give back our knowledge and experience to the state and country as we we have yet to win an Olympic gold medal.
On National Sports Day, the sports minister lamented that only 40% of Malaysians are into sports. Why? More importantly, how do we become a sporting nation and a healthier nation?
We have been world champions in badminton and squash. Lee Chong Wei and Nicole David are ageing and do we really have anyone to take over? What has happened to the development programmes?
We finished fourth in the 1975 World Cup Hockey tournament but when was the last time we played in the World Cup and Olympics?
Terry Walsh when recently appointed as technical director by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation lamented on the imbalance and wondered why there was a dearth of Chinese and Indians players donning national colours!
Where are the Wong Choon Hin's, Yang Siow Meng's and M. Mahendran's? Let's get to the root of the problem.
The sports minister had mooted a specialised and scientific programme which is expected to see more emphasis given to producing world beaters and champions, something that has been sadly lacking due to the small pool of talent available.
This is where we believe lies the root problem. Therefore how are we going to broaden the base?
Under the RM75 million allocated for podium sports, we do hope the sports minister will consider our proposals. We have prepared a detailed paper and this are its salient points:
1. Sports to be made a national agenda as the perception of sports and health must change.
2. Let's start with every child from the age of five to 12 for a holistic plan from kindergarten to their working lives.
3. At kindergarten level itself things need to be revamped. To sum it up, children need to learn how to lead a healthy life.
4. Engaging child psychologists, nutritionists, Level 3 sports science personnel/teachers, coaches and talent scouts at grassroots level.
5. Unearthing, spotting, grooming, nurturing, developing systematically a child's progress with their teachers and parents at that level.
6. Health screening, identifying the child's strengths and weaknesses, emphasis on self-discipline and lifestyle is slowly and steadily ingrained at that level.
7. If at that level, the child is taught and guided on how to take care of himself, eat the right food, how to lead a healthy lifestyle, imbibe moral values, focus and develop his skills, his talents and to be mentally strong, we believe we will have champions in the making.
These are only the salient points.
We are ready to impart our holistic approach which if implemented will not only curb social menace but also bring about many other benefits to our beloved country and make future champions.
We urge the sports minister to engage us as we are ready to share our knowledge and experience.
Selvanathan P. Mangudi
Malacca