KUCHING: Mental strength must be one of the main pillars for Sarawak’s para athletes in facing the challenge of defending their title at the 14th Para Malaysia Games (Para SUKMA) in Selangor.

Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said defending the championship would not be an easy task as Sarawak had now become one of the teams under the spotlight following its success in previous editions.

According to her, the situation required athletes to be prepared not only physically, in terms of stamina and strategy, but also to possess mental resilience in dealing with pressure and competing away from their home ground.

“Mental strength is very important. Apart from the skills taught by coaches in terms of stamina and strategy, athletes must also be mentally prepared to face any challenges,” she said.

She said this after visiting and observing the intensive training session of Sarawak’s para archery athletes at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Jalan Arang here on Thursday.

Dato Sri Fatimah said the mission to defend the Para SUKMA championship this time would be more challenging as Sarawak was no longer considered an underdog team, but had instead gained recognition following its achievements in previous editions.

“To defend a position is more difficult than when we were regarded as a team that was not taken into consideration.

“Now that people know about Sarawak, we have a major challenge ahead,” she said.

She said athletes should use the various challenges they had overcome in life as a source of strength to continue fighting, while ensuring personal issues did not affect their focus during competitions.

She added that all Sarawak athletes, officials, escorts and coaches were scheduled to depart for Selangor on the 1st, after undergoing intensive training until the 31st.

She also reminded every athlete that they had a responsibility to contribute towards Sarawak’s mission of defending the championship title.

Meanwhile, Sarawak para archery coach Razmi Amit said the team had shown positive progress, with the number of athletes increasing to seven, compared with only one when the team first participated in the Games in 2022 and three athletes in 2024.

He said the current team comprised three male recurve athletes, three female recurve athletes and one male compound athlete, with an initial target of securing two medals at this year’s Para SUKMA.

“The target so far is two medals. Insya-Allah, we hope to achieve this through the women’s individual event and mixed team event. There is also hope in the men’s individual event,” he said.

Razmi said the Sarawak para archery team was still in the process of building a more complete squad, with an ideal target of having 12 athletes to strengthen the team’s capabilities and allow athletes to support one another.

The Sarawak para archery team is led by Busrah Tani as manager, with Razmi Amit and Johin Krayu as coaches, while Rosanah Kahar serves as escort.

The men’s recurve team comprises Vicky Ran Jeffry, Gillbelson Alvin and Sylvester Louis Sibat, while the women’s recurve team consists of Nur Ezzatul Farishah Busrah, Sharrylnja Aerica Simon Aleh and Victoria Annabel Nuri. Dylan Lawai Ditum represents Sarawak in the men’s compound event. -UKASnews

Prepared by: Lonney Jinab
Photos: Muhd Zulfadli
Translator: Uilson Ng