KUCHING, June 15 — Athletes representing Sarawak in the 20th Malaysia Games (Sukma) next year will be allowed to train at the State Sports Complex in Petra Jaya under the state government’s supervision from Wednesday (June 17).

"We only have 263 days left to prepare for Sukma (scheduled to be held in Johor from March 6-14 2021) and that’s a very short time to get the athletes in tip-top shape for the biennial Games,” said state Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah after chairing a meeting with the State Sports Council today.

He said all athletes and coaches involved must comply with the stipulated standard operating procedure (SOP) and guidelines, including adopting social distancing during training and having their temperatures taken, in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

For contact sports like football, boxing, hockey and rugby, permission to train is only for athletes who will be competing in the Sukma and not for other competitions.

He said the training permission was also granted to Sarawak para athletes preparing for the Para Sukma in Johor from April 5-10 2021. — Bernama