Foul!

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Malaysia has qualified for the Under -23 Asian Cup football tournament in Doha, Qatar next year under the supervision of head coach, E. Elavarasan.   Malaysia qualified previously in 2018 and 2022. This is an achievement by all means, given the fact that Elavarasan only had around seven months to mould the team into a winning combination. Elavarasan, who is also the assistant to senior national team coach Kim Pan-gon, has a very successful coaching journey in the Malaysian Super League.   He has a 'midas touch' and has continuously achieved great success with many teams that he had managed in the Malaysian league. He has a knack of leading under-performing teams to get promotion to a higher league and is known to be a no-nonsense coach and disciplinarian on the field. As the head coach of the U-23 national squad, his squad won the Merlion Cup in Singapore, reached the semi-finals of the AFF U-23 Cup in in Rayong and recently achieved their target to qualif...

Now here's a tale about a bailarin. The bailarin, had just slightly over a year ago, tried hard to lure new partners. He did the cabeceo , a traditional technique for selecting dance partners from a distance using eye contact and head movements. But he was snubbed. He tried to book a date (minus the chimichurri steak and wine), hoping to catch the attention of the new dance partners. The bailarin failed. He was without doubt slighted. Fuelled with hope, the bailarin continued to  practica (informal training session for tango dancers) on his own. He has been training hard to do the  gancho , hoping once he 'hooked' the new dance partner, the parejas  will be able to passionately mesmerise the crowd. The bailarin was willing to adapt, even it means dancing while playing Tango 5: The Last Dance on his Android phone or to the tune of the 'Game of Thrones' theme . It's been over a year and none of the ne...

And the common remark I receive when meeting those within the sports fraternity these days is ... the "boy is clueless". I hope this article will not be the "garbage that sets the tone for the remaining sports media lowlifes to emulate in their so-called news", as recently remarked by a supposed educated man within the industry. Observations: 1. The minister has a major "perception" problem. Period. Perception is defined as "a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem". He is surrounded by those with very little insights about the fraternity, thus making things worse for him. It could, however, work to his benefit as he will not have a biased view when tackling issues. 2. The minister and his deputy have repeatedly acknowledged they are not well-versed with sports. They can choose to rely on the several experienced hands within the ministry - namely secretary general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali and National S...

Efforts are being made to save the Kinrara Oval. A petition is out. Many are quick to blame the land owners for "killing cricket". However, the announcement of the Kinrara Oval in Puchong has somewhat opened a can of worms. More questions are now begging for answers. 1. Why hasn't the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) paid the premium to the land owners? 2. The Oval used to be a public park (a green space) before the venue was built. Will Puchong folks get back their green space? 3. Why didn't MCA inform the Youth and Sports Ministry that it failed to pay the premium to the land owners? 4. Was wasn't this matter addressed when the stadium was built? Didn't anyone foresee such a thing could happen especially in Puchong where development has been overwhelming in recent years? Here's a fun fact: The government spent money renovating the venue ahead of the 2017 SEA Games. And now the stadium will be closed. Sheer waste isn't it? Let...

Image: National Sports Council, Malaysia The focus seems to be on the Podium Programme for obvious reasons. After all, those behind the programme had set high targets but have to date failed twice – failing to finish top ten in both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. While the knives are out for those behind the Podium Programme, a programme under the National Sports Institute, let’s not forget another programme under the National Sports Council – Kita Juara . On Sept 7, 2015, The Star (in its article ‘ Kita Juara’programme launched in bid for SEA Games glory ') quoted former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as saying: “The ‘Kita Juara’ programme will lay the foundation for future success ... it’s not short-sighted. “There’s no point becoming overall winners at the 2017 SEA Games and then let it all go downhill once more.”  Malaysia became the overall winners at last year’s SEA Games – winning 145 gold medals, 92 silver medals and 86...

Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, the former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary, has written the second part of his mid-term review of the Podium Programme. For the uninitiated, Kok Chi - a former engineer with the Irrigation and Drainage Department of Malaysia and represented the country in water polo - has served Malaysian sports for decades, mainly through OCM. Here are his views, as emailed to Foul! minutes ago: Mid term review of the Podium Programme - Part II After publishing my review of the Podium Programme , I received many views, comments and requests for clarifications, which I feel I should respond. The main questions asked were as follows: What was the actual budget and how much had been spent and on what? Why was Podium Program staff paid higher salaries than other the National Sports Institute (NSI) and National Sports Council (NSC) staff? With regards to the workshop on the Podium Programme scheduled Sept 13 and 14 20...

Image: National Sports Council, Malaysia Let's look at the newspaper reports since the Podium Programme was launched in 2016. Feb 2, 2016 Podium Programme takes off with aim to win 2020 Olympics gold (The Star) "The ambitious programme will involve 97 athletes and 36 coaches from 21 sports. All in, the Government will spend RM75mil this year." Oct 22, 2016 RM1.2b for sports development  (Daily Express) "In addition, a sum of RM70 million has also been allocated for the Elite Sports Podium Development Programme to prepare athletes for international sports events." Sept 5, 2018 Podium safe for now Minister says it would be an injustice to axe Podium Programme  (The Star) "In comparison, Malaysia only spent a total of RM170mil on the Podium Programme since it was launched in 2016. The National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Dr Khairi Zawi chipped in and said: “The RM170mil is spent for training, competitions ...

Just got off the phone with former Olympic Council of Malaysia secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi regarding his commentary on his Facebook page. Reproducing it here after obtaining his approval. Mid Term Review of the Podium Programme I am sure most Malaysians are aware Malaysia has won 6 Olympic Games silver medals and 2 bronze medals in badminton, one silver and one bronze medal in diving and one bronze medal in track cycling, since the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, Malaysia has yet to win its first Olympic Games gold medal. On the other hand, Malaysia’s neighbours, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have already won Olympic Games gold medals. This, it has always been the top priority of Malaysia to win its first Olympic Games gold medal. The former Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin made it his target to win Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In November 2014, the minister commissioned a team of Australia...