Bidikan memanah menjadi
KUALA LUMPUR - Atlet memanah negara berjaya merangkul dua pingat emas, dua perak dan satu gangsa menerusi acara compound dan recurve individu yang diadakan di Stadium Pusat Sukan, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) dalam Sukan Universiti ASEAN (AUG) ke-14 semalam.
Izzudin Abd. Rahim dan Saritha Cham Nong muncul wira negara dengan meraih emas dalam acara recurve individu lelaki dan compound individu wanita.
Izzudin berjaya mengetepikan rakan senegara yang juga atlet kebangsaan Nazrin Aizad Mat Nasir 107-106, sementara Saritha menang dengan jumlah mata 111-104 menewaskan Norhayati Almadihah Hashim (Malaysia).
'Robin Hood' julang dua emas
SKUAD memanah mencetus rasa ceria apabila tampil menyumbang dua pingat emas buat kontinjen negara di temasya Sukan Universiti Asean (SUA 2008), semalam menerusi acara individu compound lelaki dan wanita.
Saritha Cham Nong memenangi emas individu compound wanita dengan mencatat 111 mata, mengatasi pencabar terdekat dan juga rakan sepasukan, Norhayati Almadihah Hashim yang mendapat 104 mata, manakala Izzudin Abdul Rahim memenangi saingan lelaki dengan catatan 107 mata mengatasi rakan sepasukan, Nazrin Aizad Mat Nasir yang mencatat 106 mata.
Bagi pengurus skuad memanah negara, Mohd Dam Khamis prestasi atlit negara semakin meningkat sejak hari pertama pertandingan pada 14 Disember lalu.
Panahan emas Izzudin atasi Chu Sian
KUALA LUMPUR Harapan yang disandarkan kepada pemanah Olimpik Cheng Chu Sian untuk merealisasikan pingat untuk negara dalam acara Recurve lelaki tidak kesampaian apabila tewas di tangan rakan senegara.
Pada peringkat separuh akhir yang berlangsung di Stadium Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, dekat sini, Chu Sian ditumpaskan Izzudin Abd Rahim dengan 106-111.
Izzudin, yang juga atlet elit memanah kebangsaan, kemudiannya meneruskan rentak kecemerlangan beliau apabila menewaskan saingan seorang lagi rakan sepasukan Nazrin Aizah Mat Nasir untuk merebut pingat emas dengan 107-106.
“Secara keseluruhan pemanah kita telah mempamerkan mutu persembahan yang begitu baik. Walaupun nasib tidak menyebelahi Chu Sian, tetapi pemanah-pemanah yang lain telah mempamerkan peningkatan.
“Saingan dalam acara ini juga sangat mencabar khususnya daripada pemanah-pemanah Indonesia. Esok, saya berharap mereka akan terus memberikan saingan yang baik,” kata pengurus pasukan Mohd Dam Khamis semalam.
Sementara itu, pingat emas kedua negara dalam acara memanah diperoleh menerusi Saritha Cham Nong dalam acara Compound individu wanita.
Saritha yang memulakan kempen memburu pingat di temasya Sukan Universiti Asean dengan penuh bergaya itu menamatkan saingannya dengan sebutir pingat emas.
Pada perlawanan akhir, Saritha menewaskan rakan senegara, Norhayati Almadihah Hashim dengan 111-104. Pingat gangsa menjadi milik Farisah Asfarina dari Indonesia yang menewaskan seorang lagi atlet negara, Nurhidayah Abdul Latip dengan 107-105.
Pada hari terakhir acara memanah hari ini, sebanyak enam pingat emas menjadi rebutan iaitu dalam acara Compound dan Recurve berpasukan lelaki dan wanita serta Compound dan Recurve campuran berpasukan.
Mixed gender events at 2010 Youth Games
LAUSANNE (Switzerland): Mixed gender events and teams made up of athletes from several countries are some innovations the International Olympic Committee has included in the 2010 Youth Olympics sports programme, it said on Wednesday.
The first edition of the Youth Games to be held in Singapore will include mixed gender or mixed countries team events in archery, athletics, cycling, tennis, swimming and triathlon among other, the IOC said.
”We have finalised the programme,” IOC Olympics Director Gilbert Felli said. “We have some changes in some sports, some innovations in the programme.”
The team sports tournaments will have one team per continent while basketball will only use three players per team instead of five.
The Youth Games, the brainchild of IOC president Jacques Rogge, are designed to generate enthusiasm among the world’s teenagers who in recent years have turned away from the Games in greater numbers raising the average age of television viewers.
Singapore will host the first summer edition of the Youth Games with about 3,600 athletes aged 15-18, competing in 26 sports and will cost about US$30mil. — Reuters
Government to promote seven sports in schools
KUALA LUMPUR: Seven sports will be given emphasis in schools nationwide as the government hopes to encourage students to get involved in sport activities again.
A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Sports yesterday accepted the resolution to set up training programmes for the seven sports identified to be suitable to be promoted in schools. They are football, archery, badminton, gymnastics, hockey, athletics and sepaktakraw.
Of the seven, only sepaktakraw is a non-Olympic sport and it is hoped that the exercise will involve up to 18,000 students.
The role of parents in helping to cultivate strong interests in sport activities were also recognised and the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is the chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Sports, hoped that this would continue.
“In fact, we want to get more parents involved in getting their children to go into sports from an early age,” he said.
“If we are talking about producing world-class athletes, we have to get the children to start from a very young age. Ideally, it should begin from the age of six.”
Najib added the parties involved had also agreed to work together towards the implementation.
Elaborating on this, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that they wanted to ensure that involvement in sports did not cease once the children left school.
“There should be continuity after someone completes his Form Five examinations and there should be an avenue for them to continue it once they enter university,” he said.
“This is where the Ministry of Higher Education comes in and the Cabinet Committee on Sports has agreed to get everyone to cooperate.”
