KUALA LUMPUR – It has been nearly a year since the Youth and Sports Ministry made a promise to young national figure skater C. Sree Abiraame to support her training and participation in international tournaments.
Unfortunately, the nine-year-old, who is fondly known as Abi, has yet to receive any form of assistance from the ministry.
The promise was made by former youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican on his Facebook page.
In his post, he said he will “instruct the National Sports Council (NSC) and National Sports Institute of Malaysia (ISN) to immediately discuss and explore types of support and assistance we can provide her and the ice skating and figure skating sport as a whole”.
Amazing achievements and hard work by Adik Sree Abiraame towards fulfilling her dreams in figure skating international...
Posted by Reezal Merican Naina Merican on Saturday, December 19, 2020
The message was posted on December 19 last year − the same day the Sree Abiraame Foundation was launched.
A day later, the ministry echoed Reezal Merican’s sentiment, expressing its concern for Abi’s situation and promised to take the necessary actions.
Kementerian Belia dan Sukan prihatin dengan masaalah yang dihadapi oleh adik Sree Abiraame dan akan memanjangkan isu ini untuk tindakan. . #TeamKBS
Posted by KBSMalaysia on Saturday, December 19, 2020
In an effort to follow up on that promise, The Vibes recently spoke to Abi’s father, who said that they have not received any news from the ministry despite repeated attempts to contact them.
“We haven’t received any support other than from the public,” said Chendren Balakrishnan.
“We’ve sent many letters to the ministry and to NSC, but nobody came back with answers, and we feel like they have refused to help us.
“They said it was because Abi is still too young and figure skating is not a mainstream sport.”
Whatever it takes
Despite the government’s indifference, Chendren went ahead with the Sree Abiraame Foundation − a crowdsourcing initiative set up under the Prime Minister’s Office to help fund his daughter’s training and participation in international tournaments − which has helped stir the public to come forward with monetary contributions.
However, the funds raised was not enough as The Vibes had previously reported that Chendren had to sell his house and car, as well as drain his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings account to cover the remaining expenses.
Chendren said from 2016 until today, they have spent close to RM700,000, which includes crowdsourcing funds from the public.
All this was made possible through the initiative taken by Abi’s family without the support of the government.
If promising young athletes continue to go unrecognised by national sports bodies, Malaysia will stand to lose more homegrown talents to other countries.
One such example would be Singaporean badminton ace Loh Kean Yew.
The world number 39 had recently upstaged second-seed Lee Zii Jia for the second time in the recent 2021 Hylo Open in Germany to become the first Singaporean man to win a Super 500 badminton event.
The 24-year-old athlete had not only defeated the All England champion previously in the French Open, he had also ousted five-time world champion Lin Dan of China in 2019 to capture the Thailand Masters Crown.
What many may not realise is that Kean Yew is a Penangite and a product of the Penang Badminton Association.
He was scouted by our far-sighted neighbours when he was 12 and offered a scholarship at the Singapore Sports School.
Similar to many Malaysian-born talents, the young badminton player opted to make this move to further his professional career.
Sponsorship from MIC
When it came to helping Abi further her career as a figure skater, Chendren said that the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) promised a three-year sponsorship – beginning in 2020 – worth RM100,000.
Despite receiving RM20,000 last year, no other contribution has been made for this year so far, said Chendren.
When he tried to follow up on the offer, MIC president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran asked him to instead apply for sponsorship from the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra). Chendren saw his application rejected on the basis that there were no allocations made for figure skating.
On the other hand, Mitra was recently reported for being under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on allegations of fund mismanagement.
Abi’s figure-skating journey has also been made possible by a contribution from OMS Foundation, which was founded by prominent Klang-based business owner P. Thiagarajan – better known as Oms Thiagarajan.
He is one of the directors of KL Larut Sdn Bhd, a company that currently operates in the mining and quarrying industry, as well as in the oil and gas extraction sector.
The OMS Foundation pledged to support the Sree Abiraame Foundation with RM800,000 over eight years – from 2019 to 2026. To date, it has contributed RM190,000.
It’s Jalur Gemilang all the way
Figure skating is widely known as a glamorous sport, and one of the most expensive.
An athlete is required to spend many items, such as elaborate costumes, private coaches, skates, travel fees and physical therapy. On average, annual expenditure can run upwards of RM200,000.
“All she wants is to carry the Jalur Gemilang to the podium,” said Chendren of his daughter’s dream.
“She wants to make the country proud when she reaches the age where she’s eligible to compete in the 2028 Winter Youth Olympics in South Korea and 2030 Winter Olympics in Italy.
“If the government does not recognise her achievements or her potential, my wife and I will continue to turn to the public for help as they have done all these years.
“We will try our best to raise the money to support Abi’s dreams.”
Abi, who hails from Seri Kembangan, is a Malaysia Book of Records holder for being the youngest female competitor to win the Skate Asia Figure Skating Competition in 2017.
She has also been recognised in the Asia Book of Records as the youngest international figure skater to win medals in 2019.
Throughout her entire career, Abi – since the age of three − has won more than 50 gold medals at various levels in local and international championships.
She has been a role model to many figure skaters and non-figure skaters alike.
More importantly, she is a role model to her parents.
Chendren said not once has Abi complained or cried at the thought of having to undergo daily training of three to four hours.
“We realise that ice skating is a very expensive sport. We will do whatever it takes to support our daughter’s dream of being a gold medallist or an Olympic champion, even if we have to deplete whatever savings we have left,” he added. – The Vibes, November 10, 2021
