By Suhaila Shahrul Annuar
SHAH ALAM, Jan 27 — Selangor is targeting a top three finish in the coming 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak, which is scheduled to be held from August 17 to 24.
State executive councillor for sports Mohd Najwan Halimi said state athletes are fully prepared to compete in the games after undergoing aggressive training with careful monitoring of both their physical and mental fitness.
“God willing, we are ready for Sukma 2024 and will give our best. Hopefully, Selangor can achieve excellent results and perform better than the previous edition.
“We are targeting the top three, but if we can be crowned overall champions, that will be a bonus. What’s certain is we will work hard to win as many gold medals as possible,” he said after attending a programme in Seksyen 11, here, today.
On how many medals the Selangor contingent is aiming for, Najwan said the state is still awaiting an official announcement on the specific categories that will be contested in the games this year before determining any targets.
“As of now, we can’t make medal projections yet as the Sukma secretariat has not announced specifically the categories involved, although the general sports that will be up for contest have been (announced).”
Najwan said among the events that could potentially deliver medals for Selangor include athletics, aquatics, field bowling, shooting, and archery.
Previously, Najwan had said that the Selangor contingent faces a huge challenge in this year’s Sukma seeing that the host state has announced 37 events compared to about 20 in the past.
In the 2022 edition, Selangor finished third behind Johor and Terengganu, with 54 gold, 46 silver, and 61 bronze medals, slightly improving from the fourth-place finish in the 2018 Sukma.
The last time the state emerged as the overall winner was in 2016, which was played in Sarawak.
The state government allocated RM8 million under the 2024 Selangor Budget to help prepare the state contingent for the games.
