RM1.5 MLN BOOST FOR SEPAK TAKRAW GROWTH

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Youth and Sports announced a RM1.5-million allocation from the National Sports Council (NSC) to be channelled to the National Sepak Takraw Development Programme (NSTDP) which was launched today.

Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh said that the programme will help nurture a larger pool of talented players for the advancement of sepak takraw in the near future.

“Sepak takraw is not an expensive sport and it is appropriate for us to develop and worth championing. I see that in rural areas, the  Orang Asli community and women also find sepak takraw to be quite popular. I believe with this funding, they can carry out various development programmes and hope this marks a good start for sepak takraw,” she said.

She said this during the NSTDP launch today, which was also attended by Sepaktakraw Association of Malaysia (PSM) president, Datuk Sumali Reduan.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the re-listing of sepak takraw which was dropped in 2017 in the Podium Programme, Hannah said that the development could further develop the sport in Malaysia.

“With the re-listing of sepak takraw, it will receive support from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth and Sports. I believe the development plan made by PSM can be continued,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sumali said that the launch of the NSTDP is a new chapter for sepak takraw in Malaysia.

He said that he expects the NSTDP to producing quality players within two to three years.

"I admit it is not an easy task for us to achieve that. However, we will try to achieve that mission through the establishment of NSTDP," he said.

-- BERNAMA