National swimmers will no longer swim in the dark
As published in Mailsport today
By Wan Noriza Meor Idris
KUALA
LUMPUR — New National Sports Council (NSC) director general Ahmad
Shapawi Ismail summoned his three aquatic coaches for a face-to-face
meeting yesterday after several Mailsport’s reports regarding the
deplorable state of the National Aquatics Centre (NAC).
The
trio are Paul Birmingham (swimming), Yang Zhuliang (diving) and Long Yan
(synchronised swimming). Shapawi, who replaced Datuk Seri Zolkples
Embong on Dec 19, was stunned to discover how badly neglected the centre
was.
Yesterday Mailsport revealed the national swimmers have been
training in the dark for the past fi ve years as the lights do not
function. He also said the hot shower have not been working for quite a
while.
Last week diving coach Yang Zhuliang once again
requested for a new roof for the diving arena. He said he can’t conduct
training if it rains as the players are at risk of lightning strikes.
“I
called them for an in depth discussion following Mailsport’s reports
and I promised them I will rectify the situation as soon as possible,”
said Shapawi.
“However the bulbs are from an old model which is no
longer on the market. We will change the bulbs as soon as possible.”
Shapawi
said he summoned the coaches to his offi ce to thank them for bringing
the problems to his attention. “This is a serious matter as it involves
our national athletes.
We everything to be in tip-top condition for
them,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to the Malaysia Stadium Corporation and
they will give us full cooperation to restructure the centre.”
The NAC
was built for the 1998 Commonwealth Games but has only had minor
touch-ups since.
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