KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah always keeps abreast with sports developments in the country including the current issue involving national equestrian ace, Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil.
The seriousness and concern were evident when His Majesty expressed his desire to seek clarification from the relevant parties on the fate of the national athlete.
Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) president Jasni Shafie said His Majesty made this clear when the SAM leadership visited him in the capital yesterday.
According to Jasni, His Majesty who was keen on equestrian sports expressed the hope that the issue would get the attention of those concerned.
“At yesterday’s meeting, His Majesty took note of the issue concerning Qabil Ambak and wanted clarification from the relevant parties.
“And His Majesty also hopes that it can be resolved as soon as possible,” Jasni said when contacted by Bernama today.
On the meeting which lasted 20 minutes, Jasni said, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was also briefed on the country’s sports development and sports journalism, besides explaining SAM activities that involve members in the states.
Sultan Abdullah was also given a photo album as a souvenir after he attended the SAM awards ceremony on April 10.
Qabil Ambak’s plans of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been dealt a major blow as he is said to be unable to return to Europe to participate in the remaining Olympic qualifying events until December.
This is because Qabil Ambak, who is also the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist, has not been allowed to enter Europe since the end of August due to immigration regulations. He was forced to cut short his stay in Europe after he allegedly overstayed his visa in Denmark recently.
Qabil Ambak is currently ranked third in the Asia/ Oceania group for qualifying for the Olympics by collecting 748 points behind South Korea’s Hwang Yong-Shik (773 points) and New Zealand’s Wendi Williamson (776 points). — Bernama
