KUALA LUMPUR – Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) has come on board to support the junior athletes’ development programme by SportExcel, with sponsorship worth RM1.5 million.
YSD, in a statement today, pointed out that the three-year programme, called “The Malaysian Premier Elite Junior Circuit Grand Finals and International Exposure for Female Athletes” was aimed at producing highly competitive female junior athletes in swimming, tennis, squash and BMX (cycling).
YSD chairman Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar said the programme was to provide international exposure for the up-and-coming junior athletes, which is a key component in player development.
“The more one competes overseas, the better it is for an athlete. They face different challenges, which further develops their abilities, as well as be exposed to different cultures and develop their soft skills such as improved confidence, communication skills and team spirit through more interactivity,” said Tunku Imran, who is also the SportExcel founder and chairman.
Meanwhile, SportExcel executive director Sivanandan Chinnadurai said that the four selected sports and athletes under the programme would be closely monitored by an advisory board as well as a monitoring and evaluation panel.
The advisory board will be headed by former track queen Datuk Marina Chin, squash legend Datuk Nicol David and former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary-general Datuk Low Beng Choo.
“The athletes’ fitness, communication skills, decision-making, ethical and moral behaviour development tests will be conducted on a regular basis by the panel,” said Sivanandan.
He added that the sponsorship would cover the athletes’ participation in overseas championships twice a year for each sport and the expenses of inviting international junior athletes to participate at the annual local SportExcel-NSC (National Sports Council)-Milo Grand Finals of each sport in a bid to raise the level of competitiveness of the Grand Finals.
“Selection of players and competitions for each year will be decided by the respective National Sports Association (NSAs),” he said.
Apart from Nicol, some of the other juniors from SportExcel to have graduated and successfully become world-class athletes included Shalin Zulkifli (bowling); Ben Leong (golf); Yeoh Ken Nee (diving); Jeffrey Ong (swimming); M. Kumaresan (cycling); and, most recently, Gavin Kyle Green (golf). – Bernama, March 1, 2022
