Athletics - MAAU slammed over training centre
Devinder Singh
IAAF vice-president Amadeo Francis chided the MAAU for having placed just one Malaysian athlete at the centre despite having two world class coaches at its disposal in its own backyard.
"There are 14 athletes from Asia training at the centre but only one Malaysian. The Government has given full support for the centre through the National Sports Council and the facilities here are first class.
"We have a good jumps coach and we brought in a sprints and hurdles coach this year but I feel there has been an under-utilisation of the centre by the Malaysian association," said Francis at a Press conference at Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Francis, who arrived on Sunday for a three-day visit, said he hoped to see an improvement in the enrolment of Malaysian athletes at the HPTC after a meeting with MAAU vice-president Karim Ibrahim.
"I had a no-holds barred and frank dialogue with Karim and I was appraised of the shortcomings and misconceptions that existed at the centre. We agreed to work on this because it is our job to make this centre successful for Malaysian and Asian athletes," said Francis, who is also the IAAF development commission chairman and a former hurdler who represented Puerto Rica. The HPTC for Asia, which was relocated from Bangkok to Bukit Jalil in July 2005, has sprints and hurdles coach Valeriy Kazakov of Uzbekistan and jumps coach Victor Kuzin of Russia. Between them they train 14 Asian athletes who are under IAAF scholarships.
Besides Malaysia’s 100m sprinter Mohd Latif Nyat, the other athletes hail from Uzbekistan (three), Bangladesh (two), Yemen (two), and one each from Indonesia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand. Another Malaysian, long jumper Josbert Tinus, trains at the centre under an agreement with the Armed Forces AAA.
Francis, who also met NSC director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong , added that while the initial emphasis was to attract athletes from abroad to the centre, he hoped to see a proper mix of Malaysian athletes, ideally one-fifth of the number training at the HPTC.
"I understand that the MAAU has a programme for the elite athletes for the Sea Games. We would not want to substitute that programme. Maybe they can place second-level athletes here. There is also a possibility for Malaysian local coaches to work as understudies to the foreign coaches at the centre to benefit from their vast experience."
Francis said he also could not understand why Malaysian athletes were not being sent for competition after learning of their complaints through Malaysian newspaper reports.
"No matter how much an athlete trains the only way to test themselves is in competition, which will also help make them eligible for top-level events like the Olympics and the World Championships."
Latif and the other HPTC athletes will compete in four to six IAAF Grand Prix meets in Europe in June and July while the rest of the Malaysian athletes can only admire from a distance as they compete in low-level Asian meets.
From: NST
AAF vice-president Amadeo Francis (left) speaks his mind as HPTC director Mohamed Musa Noor (centre) and MAAU vice-president Karim Ibrahim listen on in a Press conference at Bukit Jalil yesterday. —Pic: HAIRUL ANUAR ABDUL RAHIM. |
THE Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union was lambasted by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) for under-utilising the High Performance Training Centre (HPTC) for Asia in Bukit Jalil.
"There are 14 athletes from Asia training at the centre but only one Malaysian. The Government has given full support for the centre through the National Sports Council and the facilities here are first class.
"We have a good jumps coach and we brought in a sprints and hurdles coach this year but I feel there has been an under-utilisation of the centre by the Malaysian association," said Francis at a Press conference at Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Francis, who arrived on Sunday for a three-day visit, said he hoped to see an improvement in the enrolment of Malaysian athletes at the HPTC after a meeting with MAAU vice-president Karim Ibrahim.
"I had a no-holds barred and frank dialogue with Karim and I was appraised of the shortcomings and misconceptions that existed at the centre. We agreed to work on this because it is our job to make this centre successful for Malaysian and Asian athletes," said Francis, who is also the IAAF development commission chairman and a former hurdler who represented Puerto Rica. The HPTC for Asia, which was relocated from Bangkok to Bukit Jalil in July 2005, has sprints and hurdles coach Valeriy Kazakov of Uzbekistan and jumps coach Victor Kuzin of Russia. Between them they train 14 Asian athletes who are under IAAF scholarships.
Besides Malaysia’s 100m sprinter Mohd Latif Nyat, the other athletes hail from Uzbekistan (three), Bangladesh (two), Yemen (two), and one each from Indonesia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand. Another Malaysian, long jumper Josbert Tinus, trains at the centre under an agreement with the Armed Forces AAA.
Francis, who also met NSC director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong , added that while the initial emphasis was to attract athletes from abroad to the centre, he hoped to see a proper mix of Malaysian athletes, ideally one-fifth of the number training at the HPTC.
"I understand that the MAAU has a programme for the elite athletes for the Sea Games. We would not want to substitute that programme. Maybe they can place second-level athletes here. There is also a possibility for Malaysian local coaches to work as understudies to the foreign coaches at the centre to benefit from their vast experience."
Francis said he also could not understand why Malaysian athletes were not being sent for competition after learning of their complaints through Malaysian newspaper reports.
"No matter how much an athlete trains the only way to test themselves is in competition, which will also help make them eligible for top-level events like the Olympics and the World Championships."
Latif and the other HPTC athletes will compete in four to six IAAF Grand Prix meets in Europe in June and July while the rest of the Malaysian athletes can only admire from a distance as they compete in low-level Asian meets.
From: NST
Labels: Athletics
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