UNIVERSHi ~UTRA MALAYS~A AKHRAR 1Nl TlDAK DIQENARKAl"f FEBRUARY 18,2018 ~tBAW:\ KI£:"UAROARI BAHAGIAN 1Nl PP412/0812012(030980) I PENINSULAR RM 1.50 new '. ESTABLISHED 1845

EXC LUSIVE I EXAM I N E I ED U CATE I EN TERTA I N j_ NcwSundayTimcs . FEBRUARY18,2018 • 4 NE\MS

SPORTS SCHOOLS SHAPING Dr Mehander Singh i \) ORLD-CLASS ATHLETES Malaysia has produced remarkable and outstanding athletes using a 60-year-old triangle method, writes AINA NASA

state level. A typical day in the life of a Sports Council, the Youth and ROOMING seemingly although still on the road to "At the very top of the pyramid, sports school student, he elab- Sports Ministry and other sports ordinary individuals to clinching its first Olympic gold at the national level, 12,000 to orated, started as early as associations had borne fruit for become world-class medal since its involvement in 14,000 student athletes in the 6.30am, when they begin their the nation. athletes is not for the the Games some seven years af- country vie for a place as the na- two-hour training. Not only has Bukit Jalil Sports G Their academic classes start School produced' more than 50 faint-hearted, but the Education ter achieving independence. tion's best." Ministry, working hand-in-hand Education Ministry sports di- This stable pyramid system en- from 9.30am and ends about' Olympians, most of the medals with national sports bodies, has rector Dr Mehander Singh told sures the best athletes start from noon. Three hours later, they Malaysia has won internationally the eye to identify a diamond in the New Sunday Times that the beginning, he added, identi- start training again. They spend have come from products of the the rough early on. churning out world-class ath- fying them early on and harness- their nights studying and making nation's sports schools. Utilising a 60-year-old triangle letes year after year was some- ing them to glory. up for those lost contact hours "Looking forward, the parties method of having a large pool of thing people outrightly demand- A prime example of this is due to competitions. involved, such as the Education ,. students sifted upwards as they ed, but they were clueless on the 's sprint king "We want thinking athletes. If Ministry, the Youth and Sports excel, our national schools have complexity of achieving it. Khairul Hafiz Jantan, who rose Brazil can have a medical doctor Ministry, the National Sports produced athletes who have "Our pyramid system begins from the ranks as an athlete at in its World Cup team, Dr Council, the National Sports In- flown the Jalur Gemilang high with the school population of school level to international lev- Socrates, why should we deprive stitute, sports associations, par- and proud in foreign lands. . roughly 5.2 million students, who el. our own student athletes of ed- ents and even the private sector From this, five sports schools compete at the most basic level, The 19~year-old Melaka native ucation?" he said, adding that must play their roles. alone have produced more than between classes and houses at ended Malaysia's 14-year drought even 'during their international "To produce more champions, 50 Olympians since the first one, their individual schools. of a gold medal in the men's 100m travels, student athletes had aca- like Lee Chong Wei, Nicol David Bukit Jalil Sports School, was "As they go on, 800,000 of dash at the Sea demic modules with them to en- and Azizulhasni Awang, we must opened in 1996. these student athletes manage to Games last year, clocking in 10.38 sure they were not left behind in pool our resources, support and This' proves impressive for a compete at district level, and seconds. their studies .. harness our student athletes un- baby nation of 32 million people, subsequently 100,000 of them at Mehander said the country's Zainal was adamant that the til they stand on international sports development had come a system used by the ministry in podiums with the Jalur Gernilang long way, paving the way for a partnership with the National raised and the Negaraku played." cluster of today's future ath- letes. He also stressed that an ele- ment that would not be over- looked in the process of devel- oping athletes was education, which was the reason sports n/"" The investment the government has made in schools primarily take academics .'i)~'our sports schools is reflected in the number very seriously. "We try to find a balance be- of world-class athletes we have. tween academics and sports. If Sports schools are like a platform for young their sports career does not pan athletes to advance into an elite team and pursue out, they need something to fall back on. their studies at the same time. "Their career track should be To have world-class athletes, we need a world- diversified and education should class mentality. This means, we need to excel not be for life." The ministry's sports deputy just physically, but also mentally. I believe a great director, Zainal Abas, said an athlete also needs to take education seriously. athlete's career was akin to high- The more students in sports schools, the more we jump; the athletes must have something to land on after they can nurture and identify talent. have reached their peak. . I managed to balance my sports training and "While their sports career will academics, thanks to the flexibility of the school. I not last until they are 50 or 60, their education lasts for a life- can be absent most of the time, but still get good time . results thanks to the modules given to me by/my ."This is why we prepare a plat- teachers. ' form for them in academics in addition to sports," he said. , , + I " I!II! IIIiI!Iii II! I!iiiI!iiiiIii!l111iIill!! II! II iI!! !ill!! IIIII iiII! !Ill iIIII Ii! IIi! III i1I11!1I11!111111111iII III! IIIII II IIII Ill! 1II111!i!iIII! iII jIii! I!HI!!! i1il!l :;;. FEBRUARY 18,2018 • NcwSundayTimcs NE:tVV,'lJiS' "' 5

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KHAIRUL HAFIZ JANTAN • Southeast in Kuala Lumpur (goldmedalin 100m sprint) • 2016 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Ho Chi Minh (gold MOHD AZIZULHASNI AWANG . THE medal in 100m. silver medal in 200m • UCI Track Cycling World . -and silver medal in 4x100m) Championships in Hong Kong (gold' • Asean School Games in (gold medal in men's keirinl medal in 4x1OOm.silver medal in' • in Kuala 200m and silver medal in 4x400m) Lumpur [qold in men's sprint) i • Malaysian outdoor record 100m • Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (bronze'; SPECIAL holder with 10.18 seconds; medal in men's keirinl t • Malaysian national junior record • World Championships (silver ij 200m with 20.90 seconds medal in men's keirin] .'< • World Championships (silver ~ medal in men's sprint) "t ONES • Malaysian Sportsman of the Year in 2009 and 2010

PANDELELA RINONG DHABITAH SABRI . CHEONG JUN HOONG 2017 • Southeast Asian Games in • 7th Asian Diving Cup in Macau • 2Q18 Budgeb Prime Minister Datuk Seri Kuala Lumpur (gold in 3m (bronze medal in 1m springboard] • World Aquatics Najib Razakannounced an allocation of. springboard] , • World Aquatics Championships , Championship in Budapest RM20 million for the Bukit Jalil Sports • Diving World Series in Windsor in Budapest (gold medal in 10m , (bronze medal in 10m School to improve its facilities (silver if) 10m synchronised platform and bronze medal in 10m + ! synchronised platforml • Sinee 1996~ Bukit Jalit Sports School has platform] " ,. synchronised platform] produced more than 50 Olympians • 'Southeast Asian Games • Sciutheast Asian Games in • Olympics in Rio (silver in 10m • 21)16 Ol¥mpies in RiQ~Outof 32 athletes, 22 , , in Kuala Lumpur [gold Sinqapore Iqold medal in 3m synchronised platform] , -were products of the Bukit Jalil Sports School 'medal in individual 10m l synchronised springboard) " • Asian Games in Incheon (silver • 2Q,., Kuala Lum.p.ur Sea GamQS~140 platforml ~ ". in, medal in 3m synchronised athletes representing Malaysia were l Glasgow (bronze in 10m springboard and bronze medal.in students, 46 were from the Bukit Jalil sports 201& ; synchronised platform] individual 3m) School Olympics in Rio de ;' ., Southeast Asian Games (gold • Asian Games in Guangzhou • Entranee fee$-(Qr national spo!lt$ $dlQ.ob (bronze medal in 1m springboard), . !aneiro. [silver 100 per centsubsidised by the government, medal RM1 daily for meals In 10m synchronised platforml ' '. , , KOOKIEN KEAT NAZMIFAIZ I • AFC Cup 2017- Allianz Goal of the • Olympics in , 2014 .- London (lost in Tournament • Commonwealth ~ bronze medal • Signed two-year contract with Johor Games in Glasgow· match) Darul Ta'zirnlwon 2017 Malaysia (bronze medal in 10m, • All England Cup and 2017 Malaysia Super synchronised platform Super Series . League]. \ and silver in 10m Premier (second • Signed contract with plattorrnl \, place] (won 2015 Malaysia Cupl " • Asian Games in • BWFWorld '. Signed with f?KNSFe Incheon [bronze medal Championships • Signed th-ree-year contract with in 10m synchronised Paris (second Portuguese club Beira- platform] place) Mar • World • Sea Games in Championshi , (won gold in India (bronze' medal] medal] • Drafted in,Harimau Muda A for 2012 S.

-' 1::: League campaign . under Ong Kim Swee ...... : I ~ .. , BRYAN NICKSON LOMAS ., FINA Diving World Cup in London (bronze medal in

> synchronised 3m springboard event • World Aquatics Championships [l lth place in 3m .sprinqboardl • Asian Games in Guanqzhou (silvers in synchronised 3m springboard and synchronised 10m springboard and bronze in 10m platform] • Commonwealth Games in Delhi (bronze in 10m individual platform and synchronised 3m platform]