Nothing less than top spot for Msia at coming Asean University Games
PUTRAJAYA: Buoyed by the continuous progress made by its athletes, the Higher Education Ministry has set top spot in the medal standings at the Asean University Games in Singapore next July as its next big target. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the emphasis and support given to athletes in institutions of higher learning have meant they are now also equipped to meet the ministries aspirations of developing athletes of international calibre who are also top performers in academics. "This has been our vision and what we want is to produce thinking athletes, who excel in sports as well as academics. These are model students and athletes, who will be of benefit to society," said Idris. He was speaking after the Institutions of Higher Learning Sports Awards Ceremony, where he handed out incentives worth a total of RM300,000 to 196 athletes from universities and institutions of higher learning who won medals for the country in the 2014 World University Championships (WUC), the 2014 Asean University Games (AUG) and the 2015 World University Games (WUG). Archer Saritha Cham Nong was the highest achiever, taking home incentives worth RM6,000 for winning a gold medal at the AUG in Palembang, Indonesia and a silver medal at the WUC in Legnica, Poland, while swimmer Khoo Cai Lin took home RM4,250 for winning two gold, two silver and a bronze medal at the AUG. "If you look at Cai Lin, she is an Olympian, who has also won gold medals at the Sea Games, but she is also a double degree student, who is exemplary in both fields. Saritha too is a top student as well as one of the country's top archers. This is what we want students to believe they can achieve," said Idris. Idris said the next target for the athletes under the Malaysian Universities Sports Council (Masum) will be the 2016 Asean University Games (AUG) in Singapore next July, where the target is for Malaysia to top the medal standings. "In the last AUG, we finished third overall with 40 gold medals, which showed a significant rise in performances of our athletes. A lot of emphasis has been put on our athletes' sporting development, as it is a priority as the ministry to produce thinking athletes, who are not only top athletes, but those who excel in academics as well," said Idris. "We can already note that in the Sea Games in Singapore in June, 60 percent of Malaysia's medal winners came from among our students. To further establish this progress, we have set the target of finishing overall champions in the next AUG," he added.