KUALA LUMPUR – The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) is against the postponement of the 31st edition of the SEA Games as the council believes it would disrupt the sporting calendar next year.
OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria confirmed they received a letter from the host nation on June 4 requesting to postpone the SEA Games to July next year due to the rising cases of Covid-19 in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations.
“Yes, we have received the letter and the SEA Games Federation has called for a meeting on June 9 to discuss it further. Letters have also been sent to the National Olympic Councils of the other countries.
“The reasoning given is also that the pandemic has dampened their preparations for the Games, which includes being unable to complete some of the venues.
“But we don’t want the SEA Games to be postponed since it will disrupt our sporting calendar for next year. We have many multi-event games planned and it will be tiring for our athletes,” Norza told The Vibes when contacted.
Next year, Malaysia will have a jam-packed calendar as athletes would be preparing for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Indoor Games in Thailand, Winter Games in Beijing and the Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey.
Norza said that he understood the situation Vietnam faced but admitted athletes cannot be pressured with a busy schedule.
“Athletes want to perform and for that to happen, they will need to train. So, if we have the SEA Games moved to next year, athletes are going to be stretched, which is something we would like to avoid.
“It is impossible to prepare for so many events next year,” he said.
However, Minister of Youth and Sports, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, said that he was made to understand the issue will be discussed by the SEA Games organising committee and the National Olympic Councils (NOC), in which Malaysia will be represented by OCM at the virtual meeting.
“If there’s any position or consideration to be made, it will be discussed at the meeting,"he said.
Earlier, The Vibes reported that the SEA Games would be postponed as officials in Vietnam confirmed that it was going to be extremely challenging to go ahead amid the pandemic. – The Vibes, June 7, 2021.
