JASIN, March 11 — Eleven Talent Outreach Training Centres of the National Sports Institute (ISN) have been opened as a platform to scout and develop talents in various sports at grassroots level.
ISN chief executive officer Dr Mohd Khairi Zawi said the training centres were opened in stages since last year and five of them namely Merlimau, Melaka; Keningau, Sabah; Padawan, Sarawak; Gerik, Perak; and Kampung Kubang Batang, Kelantan had just been opened this year.
He said the eight sports chosen under the Talent Outreach programme were badminton, football, karate, archery, athletics, rugby, swimming and silat and training were handled by accredited coaches with wide experience in the sports.
“The programme was implemented because we could not achieve the target in developing sports through national programmes while the outreach programme is also geared towards the rural areas.
“Participation in the programme is open as it is based on the outreach concept and we want to produce more new talents at grassroots level,” he told reporters after the launching ceremony of the Merlimau Talent Outreach Training Centre at Merlimau Polytechnic here today.
The launching ceremony was officiated by Merlimau Polytechnic director Rashidah Mustapha.
Mohd Khairi said the Outreach programme would give talented participants a more systematic exposure from the early stage and introduce sports science as well as medicine in the development of the athlete.
He said participants were required to undergo 12 hours of training every month and would not be charge apart from being protected by insurance.
He said the Merlimau centre specialised in rugby which was conducted by Malaysian polytechnic rugby coach, Mohd Shafie Osman who is also the assistant manager of the national Under-19 rugby squad.
Meanwhile, Mohd Shafie said training was carried out every Saturday from 8am to 11am at the Merlimau Polytechnic field and whoever interested could attend the training by filling in a form.
In this regard, a participant’s mother, Mariah Kassim, 44, from Taman Merlimau Utara said the programme was very ideal in unearthing rugby talents from an early age.
She said her son, Muhammad Irfan Hamsa, 12, of Sekolah Kebangsaan Merlimau here had shown interest in rugby since last year and she decided to put him in the centre to let him learn the sport formally from a proper trainer.
“As the programme is free, it will be a big help us in the rural areas,” she said.
Umar Amirullah Jamal, 16, of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ya’Kub said the training had been very helpful to pick up skills and build my physical strength needed for rugby.
“I learn many new tactics while playing rugby and I hope to progress further to represent the country one day,” he said. — Bernama
