SEPANG, May 11 — The national petanque team left for Hanoi, Vietnam today to compete in the 31st SEA Games despite there being a question mark over their participation due to political manoeuvrings at the management level.
National petanque coach Syed Ali Syed Akil said he and his five athletes are hoping for a miracle with regard to their participation in the biennial Games.
“We are ready for whatever decision is taken because we believe that the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and National Sports Council (NSC) have done their part. But I am very confident that we will be able to compete. Otherwise, we would not have been allowed to (leave for Hanoi) today.
“This is sports politics and there’s is nothing we can do. If possible, the higher-ups must not deny the athletes (the chance to compete) as it will be a big loss for them,” he said when met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) here today.
Syed Ali said that, upon arrival, the team would be taken to check out the petanque court in Hanoi.
Meanwhile, national men’s petanque player Syed Akmal Syed Ali said they were mentally prepared for either possibility – to be allowed to play or not.
He explained that although the issue of participation affected all petanque athletes to Hanoi, the national team remained confident of achieving their two-gold target.
“Whatever happens in Vietnam, I leave it to Allah. If we are allowed to compete, we will do our very best to ensure we meet our two-gold target,” he said.
Recently, it was reported that the national petanque team were not listed for the SEA Games outing this time due to political manoeuvrings at the management level.
However, national chef de mission Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad, via local media reports yesterday, gave an assurance that the OCM would submit an appeal to the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) regarding the national petanque team’s participation and that a decision is expected to be made this week.
Besides Syed Akmal, the other national petanque players at the SEA Games are Syed Afiq Fakhri Syed Ali, Sharifah Aqilah Farhanan Syed Ali, Nurul Hairah Hussin and Athirah Sareh.
— Bernama
