KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — Athletes and officials to the Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam beginning May 12 until May 23 have been reminded not to arbitrarily use Covid-19 as an excuse to camouflage their failure to bring home a medal.
Following this, Vietnam SEA Games chef-de-mission Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad reminded all those involved to give priority to safety and health aspects in a move to lessen the risk of being infected by Covid-19.
He also said that he hoped the national camp can achieve zero Covid-19 cases for the duration of the biennial Games so that the athletes can compete at their level best thus helping the national contingent achieve glorious success.
“It is beyond our control if the athletes get infected by Covid-19 but they must recover and I think sportsmen recovering fast shouldn’t be a problem.
“Achieving the 31 gold medal target is not a problem. We pray hard so that none of our athletes is involved. If everything goes as planned, the medals will come,” he said to reporters during a visit and meet session with the national basketball squad at the Malaysian Basketball Association (Maba) Stadium here today.
Meanwhile, Nur Azmi said the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), the National Sports Council (NSC), and the National Sports Insitute are planning to establish a ‘mini hospital’ in Hanoi to house athletes infected by Covid-19 and also to monitor their health levels.
A total of 883 individuals comprising 604 athletes and 279 officials will carry the Malaysian challenge at the Hanoi SEA Games with an initial target of 79 medals in total comprising 31 gold, 19 silver and 29 bronze.
However, the actual target of the medals and flag bearers of the national contingent will be announced in the near future, with the handing over ceremony of the Jalur Gemilang expected to be held next week.
— Bernama
