Hajiji's High Premium On Discipline For Sabahans At SUKMA XXI

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor wants every athlete to maintain a high level of discipline during Sabah's challenge at the 21st Malaysia Games (SUKMA XXI) held in Sarawak from Aug 17-24.

He said discipline is the foremost element to maintain high performance when competing in any type of sport, therefore athletes will not be able to give the best challenge without discipline embedded.

"No matter how good an athlete is, if he or she is not disciplined, their abilities will not go anywhere. I am sure the sports associations and coaches have conveyed this to our athletes. We do not want the good name of the state to be smeared from indiscipline," he said here today.

Hajiji was speaking at the state flag handover to the SUKMA contingent here, which was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, and Sabah Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ellron Angin.

Sabah will be sending 713 athletes to compete in 35 sports events with a target of 40 gold medals.

In the meantime, Hajiji is confident that the Sabah contingent will be able to achieve the target of 40 gold based on the athletes ’current form and from the last outing at the 20th SUKMA in Kuala Lumpur in 2022 where Sabah's medal tally was 30 gold, 30 silver and 38 bronze medals.

"The best of incentives will await the winners from SUKMA Sarawak. To all 713 athletes who represent Sabah in this biennial event, fight with all your energy with sportsmanship to uphold Sabah's good name.

"I have full faith in the ability of our athletes to achieve success," he said.

He also urged Sabah athletes to record their best performance for selection to represent Malaysia at a higher level including world championships or the Olympics.

Hajiji also reminded the official escorts to oversee the welfare of athletes during their stay in Sarawak.

-- BERNAMA