Silat exponents should be able to maintain fitness during MCO
Published on: Thursday, April 02, 2020
By: GL Oh
Iliyas
Kota Kinabalu: The State Sukma Silat exponents should be able to maintain their fitness while waiting for the new dates to be announced, said Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim, the President of the Sabah State National Silat Federation on Wednesday.The biennial Games which were initially scheduled to be held in July this year have been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The postponement was announced by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican a week ago, but the new dates will only be decided at a meeting to be held later.
“I believe our athletes are able to maintain their fitness because they had done some intensive training in preparation for the Johor Sukma Games which was initially to be held in July.
“It was however, postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and our training was also interrupted with the Movement Control Order (MCO) which took effect on March 18.
“With the expiration date extended to April 14 as well, the athletes have been advised to continue to train on their own at home during this period,” he said.
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According to him, the 30-member squad currently comprising of 17 men and 13 women started their first phase training from February 3-9 and the second phase from March 11-16.
“These are the 30 athletes that we have chosen from the initial 60, and they have been training at the Sabah Social Service Council Hall from March 11-16.
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“They know their responsibility and the heavy task ahead as we had contributed the most gold medals for Sabah contingent at the previous Sukma Games in Perak.
“We have not set any target this time but hopefully we can at least repeat the five golds, two silvers and three bronzes outing that we achieved two years ago.”Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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