KUCHING: Sarawak to host Sukma for the third time? Why not, as it can inject excitement and propel some sports into overdrive with their development which is good for sports.
It has given Sarawak another great chance to become overall champions again after losing by two gold in the last Sukma hosted by Sarawak in 2016.
In the latest development, if all goes well, Sarawak will be hosting the 21st edition as all states have agreed to give the host job to Sarawak pending a final approval from the federal Cabinet, according to Sarawak Minister for Youth, Sport and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah during a press conference.
The next host was supposed to be Johor but Johor had rejected it while the federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had proposed for Sarawak to play host.
The news had stirred plenty of interest with the Sarawak Premier even lending support to the chance to play host for the third time with the state sports minister already briefing his ministry and the Sarawak Sports Corporation to get ready.
It is welcomed by some local sports associations for example the boxing association which would give the sport a boost if the boxers are performing in front of their home crowd.
Playing host also means improving on sports infrastructure like stadiums where in the last Sukma that Sarawak hosted we had new top class facilities like the Aquatic Centre, the squash court and also a badminton stadium in Sibu.
For the Games to be held next year, the state minister said they needed to upgrade the football fields and running track at Sarawak Stadium.
Beside that as echoed by Sarawak Amateur Boxing Association (SABA) president Datuk Rahman Lariwoo, Sarawak can be the perfect host as it is well known as a host for international sports and had good facilities like hotels, transportation and eating places as well as technical officials in the various sports events.
“Sarawak may do well but the other states have woken up and we may give Sarawak a surprise in the next Games,” said a Selangor official in 1990 when Sarawak surprised everyone by winning the overall title.
Sarawak held on to the overall Sukma title for two consecutive Games in 1992 and 1994 but lost to Selangor in 1996.
Look at Johor which were supposed to host host it in 2024 for Sukma as they showed so much improvement in many sports in the last Sukma in Kuala Lumpur as they are preparing earnestly for a good show when the Games will be held in Johor Baru.
Sarawak hosted it in 2016 followed by Perak in 2018 and Kuala Lumpur in 2021 after the Covid pandemic.
Apart from Sarawak which had hosted it twice, other states which had hosted twice included Perak, Selangor and Pahang while other states which had hosted it once were Johor, Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Sabah, Terengganu, Melaka, Perlis with Kelantan the odd one out, declining to play host so far.
Kuala Lumpur had hosted it thrice, the last one in 2021.
Also Sarawak will have the special advantage as host to choose the optional sports they are strong in and in a gamemanship may cancel sports like kayak where they did not do well in past Sukma Games.
They will sure to pick sports they do well like tenpin bowling, volleyball, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting, even Muay Thai and aquatic sports like diving which is not a compulsory sport like swimming.
As for the compulsory sports, Sarawak will do well in wushu, athletics but can they raise their level to 1990 standard where they won in tough sports like football, rugby, boxing and even swimming where Sarawak won 60 gold with our heroes and heroines Tania Bugo winning 17 gold and the unheralded Hii Ding Lie also winning more than 10.
Of course Sarawak did it with proper strategy and planning years before the Games and the other states had improved with their development to catch up with Sarawak and now a few states like Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and even Selangor, who surprising lost to Sarawak in medal count in the last Sukma, should be ahead of us.
Playing host is also the springboard for many new stars and Sarawak is expected to produce a few in the next Sukma.
Even Sarawak had the potential to produce top stars when they play away like Watson Nyambek who did it in the 1996 Sukma held in Kuantan, Pahang, Grace Wong Xiu Mei who at 16 years old shocked the sports fraternity when she hurled the hammer further than the distance of the SEA Games champion that year in Perlis.
In the Sukma held in Johor in 1992 in badminton we had a singles champion in Pei Wee Chung and also in the Perak Sukma in 1994 Sarawak also produced a singles champion in James Chua who went on the become national champion.
Even in the sport of artistic gymnastics Esmelda Aricia Menti Alfred Geling lit up the Sukma held in Kuala Lumpur winning two gold, three silver, two bronze in a feat against national athletes as her rivals in 2013.
If the opportunity comes around for Sarawak to host Sukma, it is a given that many will welcome the honour for the people of Sarawak as it is in sports that Sarawak people will enjoy and promote unity among the people.
It should be a third time lucky for Sarawak who should win the overall title and become the sports powerhouse of the nation again.
