KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Some 30,000 participants from all walks of life flooded the National Stadium Bukit Jalil courtyard to celebrate National Sports Day (HSN), the highlight of this year’s National Sports Month.

Previously, HSN was celebrated on the second week of October, since 2015.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said various sports-related activities would continue to be held throughout the month.

“As for today’s participation, it was very encouraging as we have received over 14,000 entries for the fun run event. I hope that there will be other parties that would continue to hype the sports activities throughout the month,” he said after launching the National Sports Day, which is the highlight of the 2019 National Sports Month.

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Today, the Kuala Lumpur Sports City is packed with over 75 sports activities including FitMalaysia, Fitness Carnival and Differently able Sports, e-Sports Grand Final, Zumba Fest, Women’s Sports Day, Women’s in Sports Convention and Motorsports Carnival.

The HSN celebration was boosted with a contribution of RM1.4 million by Lee Chong Wei Foundation to Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for the development of the sports while RM600,000 to the National Sports Council (NSC) for national contingent preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.

While the national Paralympic contingent also received good news when FWD Takaful Berhad contributed RM5 million in sponsorship over a 12-month period.

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The HSN celebrations are not only celebrated in the capital, but they are also celebrated at the state level in Kedah, Pahang and Sabah; however, in other states, it was celebrated earlier.

At the Pendang Mini Stadium in Kedah, the programme was attended by over 10,000 visitors and was officiated by Youth and Sports, Tourism, Arts and Culture and Entrepreneur Development committee chairman Mohd Asmirul Anuar Aris and presented with a variety of sports activities including an opening gimmick by the Royal Malaysian Police VAT 69 Commando paratroopers.

The Kedah state government targeted 324,555 participants in 1,031 sports events to be held throughout the state.

In Tawau, Sabah, about 2,000 participants gathered at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Balung to celebrate the district level National Sports Month officiated by Balung State Assemblyman Datuk Osman Jamal.

“It is hoped that the participation of the people in the National Sports Month will reduce the conflict between the races and create unity in the country,” said Osman, adding that sports day celebration not only promoted healthy lifestyles but also emphasised the involvement of all parties and bring the people closer.

Various activities have been held at the district-level celebration which included a premier aerobics session, five-kilometre fun run, Balung xco (cross country) ride challenge and fun walk.

In Pahang, more than 1,000 people celebrated the HSN held at the International Islamic University Sports Complex (UIAM) Kuantan Campus here.

“We hope more government agencies, private sectors and NGOs would organise the sports-related programmes throughout the month in supporting the National Sports Month,” said state Human Resources, Youth, Sports and Non-Governmental Organisations chairman, Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Hussain. — Bernama