KUALA LUMPUR - Nine athletes who represented the country at the Tokyo Olympic Games received a RM5,000 incentive each from the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) yesterday.
They are divers Leong Mun Yee, Nur Dhabitah Sabri and Wendy Ng Yan Yee; sailors Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy and Juni Karimah Noor Jamali; gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi; swimmer Welson Sim; archer Syaqiera Mashayikh and athlete Azreen Nabila Alias.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said the incentive was given to the “U-Olympians” in recognition of their achievements at the biggest sports festival in Japan recently.
“A total of RM3,000 in cash and RM2,000 in the form of National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN) will be given,” she said in her speech at an appreciation ceremony for the U-Olympians in Putrajaya.
Also present were Deputy Minister, Senator Datuk Dr Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad and ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Mazlan Yusoff.
Noraini said other than the incentives, four athletes - Syaqiera, Azreen, Juni and Welson - have been selected for the "Minister of Higher Education’s Scholarship - Excellent IPT (Institutions of Higher Learning) Athletes" for this year.
MOHE also published a biography titled "U-Olympians: From the Ivory Tower to the Tokyo Olympics" which details their struggles which earned them the U-Olympian tag.
Noraini said their achievements in Tokyo were a manifestation of the sports planning and development done at the IPT level.
“In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that the IPT Sports Development Policy, which is in line with the National Sports Policy, has met its objective to turn IPT into a catalyst for national sporting excellence and create a sporting culture in IPT.
“The mission to produce ‘The Thinking Athlete’ with a target of 30 per cent of national athletes coming from IPT too has been achieved,” she said.
She hoped that the athletes concerned will maintain their performance until the 2024 Paris Olympics while those who have retired should help to groom future generations to be as successful as them. – Bernama, October 2, 2021
