Can sports expect a fruitful 2017?

Tunku Ismail is a man with a vision and is trying his best to revive our football fortunes.

HONESTLY, it feels like it was just a few months ago that we had celebrated Christmas 2015 with all the decorations, shopping and carols, but before we knew what was happening, Christmas 2016 has crept up on us and here we are just a few days after the merry making waiting to usher in 2017.

Yes, it’s time again for New Year resolutions and new promises.

On the sports front, the past year has had its share or some extraordinary moments and some big disappointments.

For me personally, the highlight of 2016 was the performances of our athletes at the Olympic Games. They fought some great battles in Rio de Janeiro.

A special mention is reserved for our Paralympians, the unsung heroes who proved to their able bodied counterparts and the whole country that nothing is impossible and that one can achieve greatness despite being disabled.

Clinching Malaysia’s first Paralympics gold medal since 1972 was Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi, who made history by winning the men’s 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) in 12.07 seconds which cracked the previous record of 12.25s set by Roman Pavlyk of the Ukraine in Beijing 2008.

Mohamad Ridzuan celebrates after winning the gold in the men’s 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) in Rio. He is a shining example of what grit and determination can do.

Then Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, who took the bronze medal in the 2012 Games in London, set a world record in the men’s shot put F20 (intellectual disability) when he heaved the iron ball to a distance of 16.84m.

A third gold came courtesy of Abdul Latif Romly, who was not to be outdone by his compatriots and broke the world record in the long jump T20 (intellectual disability) category, with a leap of 7.60m. Siti Noor Radiah took the bronze in the same category.

Malaysia finished 36th out of the 170 competing countries in the medal tally with three gold medals and one bronze.

The nation once again hoped that Datuk Lee Chong Wei would deliver Malaysia’s first gold medal in Rio against Chen Long, who is always at his best when up against the Malaysian, but it was not to be.

Chong Wei has kept the country’s flag flying in most tournaments world-wide all this while, so it’s only fair and about time the Badminton Association of Malaysia started grooming younger players to represent the country on the world stage and hopefully, we can win our first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020.

For a start, the Junior Purple League, the brainchild of Datuk Jack Koh, is gaining momentum and this year’s edition saw close to 300 young players from all states and clubs battling it out in an intense competition which ran for two months. Our future champions will most probably come from this programme.

The new year could see Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong reach greater heights and the pair hinted as much by winning the BWF World SuperSeries Finals in Dubai last week. They are now the World No 1 pair.

They also took silver in the 2016 Rio Games Badminton, which managed four silver medals in the Olympics and is still the most consistent contributor in terms of performance.

Then of course there was Azizulhasni Awang, who made history at the Rio Velodrome where he battled his way to a bronze medal with a gutsy ride in the men’s keirin finals against Jason Kenny and Matthjis Buchii. Azizulhasni, 28, has time on his side. This rider from Terengganu is our key prospect for a gold medal in Tokyo 2020 as well.

Our divers, without doubt, are always in with a chance for a medal every year. Pandelela Rinong, who partnered Cheong Jun Hoong, clinched Malaysia’s first medal in Rio when they grabbed silver in the women’s synchronised 10m platform. We also have up-and-coming Nur Dhabitah Sabri who is making her mark on the diving front.

This year also saw the success of 17-year-old squash player S. Sivasangari, who finished third in the World Junior Championship in Poland and then went on to win the Asian Junior Open Under-19 title. She also created history by winning the sixth and final leg of the Malaysian Tour Squash Circuit (SSJM) which was her sixth title in a row.

We also witnessed the rise of the Malaysian rugby team who won the first Asian Rugby Championship title when they mauled Singapore 40-20. This achievement was the result of the consistent and hard work put in by clubs and the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) in the development of rugby in the country.

The year also saw the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) clearing its debts and ensuring it was back in the black. It’s worth mentioning that the women performed better than their male counterparts during the year on the international stage.

Under the leadership of Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal and its chief executive officer Logan Raj, MHC is the first national sports association in the country which is certified for ISO9001:2015 for overall management and governance.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd continues to support the development of hockey via its Thunderbolt Programmes throughout the country.

In fact, TNB is the longest “Rakan Sukan” partner which was created in 1998 and they are still seeing through their commitment.

Despite the colourful stories of the athletes, we still sometimes hear about “corrupt” officials in sports, misappropriation of funds, poor management of facilities, lack of transparency and governance in various sports association. Plenty has been written about it but it continues unabated.

There seem to be no fear about how taxpayer’s ringgit is wasted.

While it was not all doom and gloom in Malaysian sport, we can’t run away from the fact that football once again disappointed big time.

Malaysian national team failed miserably at the AFF Suzuki Cup, which was won by Thailand who are presently ranked 124 in the world. Excuses came from all directions and in all forms thick and fast but the fact remains the players failed, and it’s getting to be tiresome for the fans.

Now, all eyes will be focused on the FAM elections set for March 24.

A few days ago, I was invited to attend a briefing by Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail, which was held in Malacca. The man responsible for turning Johor into an Asian powerhouse in football with the success of the Johor Southern Tigers, did not mince his words when he shared his vision and mission with the 30 delegates from FAM. In five slides, Tunku Ismail spoke about the problems and solutions.

He also offered solutions to the financial issues faced by the states. If the states and clubs do not grab this golden offer to change the face of football then we will continue to be in the doldrums.

What is simply amazing is seeing politicians who have failed miserably in their own state and yet have the audacity to want to become FAM president.

I would like to ask some of them if they have submitted their accounts for the last five years for auditing purposes. On average, let’s say they collect RM30mil a year via sponsorship which means over 10 years that would be a whopping RM300mil. But is there any accountability or any savings? Your guess is as good as mine.

Whether the stakeholders listen to Tunku Ismail or ignore his ideas remains to be seen. If they go against him, then it’s their loss. I hope the delegates will be able to decide wisely for the sake of football and not for personal glory.

Here’s hoping we have a successful 2017. Happy New Year everyone!

Christopher Raj is chief executive officer of ShekhinahPR, a sports public relations agency. Chris’ twitter account is @chrisraj23.