Building a successful sports career may mean spending many years abroad, an option which most of our budding athletes are reluctant to consider
Minutes after she captured a record sixth World Open crown last Sunday in Rotterdam, squash queen Nicol David took to the microphone and declared: "Winning a world title is huge in Malaysia."
She is right.
The 28-year-old Penang lass, who has won every world title since 2005 with the exception of 2008, was quick to add that the country was always gunning to have more people in sports.
In reality, getting more and more Malaysians just like her onto the global stage -- and collecting major titles -- is posing a bigger challenge now than ever before.
Our biggest hurdles, I think, are the glaring lack of a sports culture, unlike the Australians for example, stiffer competition from other active sporting nations, our hit-and-miss sports policy and inadequate funding.
The constant pressure on children to do well in public examinations is also taking a toll on sports. Sports also arguably offers a less secure future than a desk job and parents are unwilling to sacrifice their children's education for sports.
"We complain that Malaysia is not doing well (in sports). But how many parents want their kids to be professional athletes?" asks a friend of mine who works in the Youth and Sports Ministry.
"I, for one, don't want my kids to go through painful training regimes."
Sharing the limelight with Nicol last Sunday was shuttler Zulfadli Zulkifli, who upset favourite Viktor Axelsen of Denmark to clinch the world junior title in Taipei.
A jubilant 18-year-old Zulfadli told this newspaper that he would not rest on his laurels. "My aim next year is to break into the top 100 and start doing well in open tournaments."
Building a successful sports career may mean spending many years abroad, an option which most of our budding athletes are reluctant to consider.
My colleague at the sports desk reminded me that Nicol wouldn't be the player she is today had she stayed in Malaysia.
Similarly, this is also the case for cyclist Azizul Hasni Awang and his teammates who took up the challenge and moved to Melbourne. They are now winning medals at the world stage.
Badminton icon Datuk Lee Chong Wei was quite fortunate as he had good sparring partners when he was an up-and-coming player.
Funding is also a pressing issue. Currently, it is still very much government driven.
There was a sharp spike in federal allocations when we won the bid to host the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.
Since then, sports bodies and associations, irrespective of how successful they are, are unable to wean off their reliance on government finances.
We always wonder why Germany excels in sports.
One Malaysian who grew up there noted that in Germany, schools in the same neighbourhood form a sports club and share the facilities. In Malaysia, each school tries to have facilities and coaches (mostly untrained) for every sport!
As such, sports should start in schools and the community. Just like in Australia or Germany, where it is a way of life.
The Youth and Sports Ministry, which has declared 2011-2012 as Sports Industry Year, wants to turn sports into big business to help lift the standards of sports in the country.
It wants more private sector investment in sports via sponsorships, training, infrastructure development, event management, merchandising, production of apparel, sports equipment, sports nutrition and many more.
In terms of gross national income, our sports industry was worth an estimated RM30.2 billion in 2009, or five per cent of the total gross domestic product.
Commentators doubt whether the ministry's plan can take off. "Do we have the ingredients to develop a thriving sports industry?" asks a former sports writer. "The industry can only go big if there is a market.
"Banks were big in sports at one time. They were the biggest employers of sportsmen and sportswomen. Unfortunately, most banks have merged and now sports does not feature highly on their list of priorities.
"Inter-bank championships in the 1980s drew greater interest than national meets. Even government departments and government-linked companies have stopped or reduced hiring of sportsmen and sportswomen. Maybe Tenaga Nasional still, but then it is limited to only hockey," he noted.
Once the current crop of top-notch players bow out of the world arena, we will once again be devoid of our own sporting kings and queens.
Developing new ones will take years and a lot of sweat and tears. We have to act now.
Otherwise, we will end up as a mere spectator nation.
By A.Jalil Hamid
Building a successful sports career may mean spending many years abroad, an option which most of our budding athletes are reluctant to consider
haha that is a funny comic strip and I think many have wished to be like Datuk Nicol David, I did too but I ended up being pay per head bookie, but I am not complaining
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