PUTRAJAYA, June 12 — Five additional sports will be contested in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2024 in Sarawak, which are scheduled to be held from August 17 to August 24, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
She said the Sukma Supreme Committee meeting today decided that softball, chess, kabbadi, silambam, and cricket would be the additional sports.
“This is a joint decision by all the exco members as these five sports have met the conditions, such as holding their own national junior championships.
“The most important thing is that Sarawak as Sukma 2024 organisers and the National Sports Council (NSC) as organisers of Sukma 2026 in Kelantan have also agreed to their inclusion to ensure continuity,” Yeoh added.
She was speaking to reporters after chairing the Sukma Supreme Committee meeting and State Youth and Sports Development Exco coordinating meeting at the ministry building.
Hannah said the listing of these five new sports was over and above the four sports agreed to earlier by the organisers, namely boxing, muay thai, pétanque, and e-sports, subject to their getting the participation of at least six states, as stipulated in the Malaysia Games General Rules.
Among the compulsory sports listed earlier for Sukma 2024 are aquatics (swimming and diving), weightlifting, badminton, cycling (track and road racing), gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), golf, fencing, archery, shooting, athletics, and sailing.
The others are hockey, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, karate, lawn bowls, pencak silat, sepak takraw, squash, tenpin bowling, wushu, football, rugby, netball, basketball, volleyball, and tennis.
The Sukma meeting also decided that the 21st edition of the games will be staged in eight divisions in Sarawak, namely Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu and Miri, to ensure people throughout the state can get to enjoy it. However, track cycling will be held in Peninsular Malaysia.
The Sukma committee also agreed to hold Para Sukma from September 21 to September 28, 2024, in the Kuching and Samarahan divisions.
— Bernama
