PUTRAJAYA, May 19 — The government has given special relaxations for 265 individuals including 57 athletes involved in the Road to Tokyo 2020 programme to begin preparations and training on June 1, said Senior Minister (security cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said this approval was granted by the Special Ministers’ Meeting on the movement control order (MCO) today following an application from Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican on preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo next year.
The training session would be conducted at three centralised training camps — the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex involving 181 individuals, Academy Badminton Malaysia, Bukit Kiara (56 individuals) and National Sailing Training Centre in Langkawi (28 individuals).
“The first phase of the centralised training camp will be from June 1 to 30, and Covid-19 screening will be conducted during registration.
“The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) will use the quarantine-based approach for the 30 days, which is equivalent to two incubation periods,” he told a news conference here today.
He said those involved would not be allowed to leave the training camp and would have to undergo Covid-19 tests before the training ends.
Ismail Sabri said a Monitoring Committee chaired by the Youth and Sports Minister would be set up to ensure compliance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the centralised training camp.
The Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 have been postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, while the Tokyo Paralympics will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021.
The Olympics were originally scheduled for July 24 to August 9, 2020, and the Paralympics from August 25 to September 6 but were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, KBS, in a statement, said 40 of the 265 individuals are medical and sports science officers from the National Sports Institute (ISN) entrusted with preparing the athletes for the Road to Tokyo (RTT) programme.
An Implementation Committee comprising members of the National Sports Council (MSN), ISN and the relevant national sports associations will jointly implement the programme. They have prepared guidelines for implementation based on the SOP set by the National Security Council (NSC) and Health Ministry (MOH).
The statement said the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex training centre will house athletes from aquatics (diving and swimming), artistic gymnastics, archery and karate.
It will also house athletes for the listed Paralympic sports — swimming, archery, cycling, athletics, badminton, boccia, powerlifting, table tennis, shooting and wheelchair tennis. The athletes involved total 40 – 14 for Olympics and 26 for Paralympics.
The Academy Badminton Malaysia will house 13 athletes, including a Paralympic athlete in badminton while the National Sailing Centre in Langkawi will host four sailors.
— Bernama
