KOTA BHARU, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- The Kelantan Para SUKMA contingent will be focusing on sports like athletics and weightlifting to contribute gold medals during the Para Malaysia Games (Para SUKMA) Sarawak 2024 which will start on Sunday.
State Youth, Sports, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and Community Unity exco Zamakshari Muhamad said that the state has set a target of 17 gold medals for the contingent that will participate in 10 sports with athletics the leading hopeful with a target of (10 gold), weightlifting (four), one gold each in chess, boccia and table tennis.
“A total of 47 athletes will start the mission with our goal to bring home 38 medals including 17 gold medals from seven sports, namely athletics, lawn bowl, chess, badminton, weight lifting, boccia and table tennis.
“I hope the athletes can engage in the final preparations from a mental and physical perspective because I believe we are able to achieve this target along with the preparations they have made so far,” he told reporters after officiating the Flag Handing Ceremony for the Kelantan Contingent to the Para Sukma Sarawak 2024 at the Kelantan Youth and Sports Department, here today.
Zamakhshari said the state government would also provide incentives to Para SUKMA athletes who won medals at the games scheduled from Sept 22 to 28.
Individual and a team of two gold medal winners will receive RM2,500, silver is RM2,000 and bronze medal winners receive (RM1,500), while for teams involving three to six athletes RM3,000 will also be awarded to those who win gold, silver (RM2,500) and bronze (RM2,000).
Apart from that, the rewards for team events involving seven or more athletes will receive (RM4,500) for gold, silver (RM3,500) and bronze (RM2,500).
Meanwhile, reviewing the recent achievements of SUKMA athletes, Zamakshari said that his priority would be to increase the search for new talent and also strengthen several programs to strengthen the achievements of athletes.
SUKMA 2024 saw the Kelantan contingent succeed in bringing home 37 medals, namely seven gold, 13 silver and 17 bronze medals and was ranked 14th in the overall rankings during the games that featured 15 contingents.
--BERNAMA
