ISKANDAR PUTERI, Dec 21 — The Malaysia Handball Federation (MAHF) is optimistic that it will be able to settle the outstanding debt of RM133,000 with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) next year.
Its president Pandak Ahmad said the debt needed to be resolved immediately to enable the federation to focus on the development of the sport at the grassroots level, as well as to prepare the national team for various tournaments.
“The best way to resolve this matter is (still) being considered to enable us to continue sending a national team to international tournaments as well as enable the sport to continue growing in the country and gain a foothold in society, especially among the younger generation.
“We will try to resolve it internally first before thinking of other methods, including the possibility of crowd-funding to repay the debt,” he said after attending the closing ceremony of the National Under-20 Handball Championship at the EduCity Indoor Stadium here yesterday.
Pandak, who has held the post of MAHF president since February last year, said the federation would continue negotiations with OCM to resolve the debt, and hoped the national sports governing body would accept the proposal of providing a minimum payment.
On March 20, the OCM Executive Board meeting unanimously decided to drop MAHF as an affiliate member of the parent body after the federation had incurred arrears of RM133,000, which included expenses and the cost of handball athletes’ participation in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang.
On the National Under-20 Handball Championship which was held in a round-robin format, he said it was one of the platforms to find new talent to represent the national Under-20 team.
He said 40 potential players from various states involving 20 men and women each were selected through the five-day tournament to represent the national youth squad for the first phase, for which training would commence in the near future.
Earlier, Kuala Lumpur emerged champions in the men’s category, followed by Pahang and Terengganu, while in the women’s category, Johor emerged winners, while Terengganu came in second and Selangor, third.
Kuala Lumpur player Abdul Aniq Danial Abd Rahman was named the Best Male Player, while Johor’s Nur Harizah Ani@Mod Zainy was announced as the Best Female Player. — Bernama
