Early grassroots training aims to unlock potential in young Johor competitors
THE Johor Deaf Sports Association (JSDeaf) is stepping up efforts to nurture a new generation of athletes as it looks to build on its best-ever performance at the upcoming Malaysia Deaf Games (Sopma) next year.
Its president Wong Wah Chien said the association was identifying young deaf talent across the state, including from schools and polytechnics, to be trained for Sopma.
“Apart from preparing for Sopma, we also want to build a sustainable pipeline of athletes.
“We are identifying talent from a young age because the earlier they begin training, the better prepared they will be for future competitions.
“Our goal is to identify and develop athletes who can represent Johor, Malaysia and eventually compete on the international stage, including at the Deaflympics,” he said through a sign language interpreter at a recent futsal tournament organised by the association at Daiman Sri Skudai Sports Centre in Johor Baru.
He said the tournament, which attracted 56 players from eight teams, was among the group’s efforts to uncover fresh talent.
“This is the first futsal tournament we have organised this year and we plan to host similar events for other sports.
“Apart from futsal, we are identifying and training deaf athletes in orienteering, badminton, chess, bowling, table tennis, athletics and e-sports,” he said, adding that the association had won several small-scale competitions in badminton, table tennis and athletics.
Wong said JSDeaf won 14 medals, including three golds to finish fifth overall at the last Sopma in Sarawak.
“While we have won medals in previous editions of Sopma, our performance last year was our best so far.
“We hope to not only keep the momentum going, but also win more medals to make Johor proud at the next games.”
He said the association aimed to compete in badminton, orienteering, table tennis and athletics at next year’s Sopma.
“In the past, we competed in more events and did not perform that well.
“Now, we have decided to focus on a few events rather than competing across the board to avoid stretching our limited funds. But we will continue to identify and nurture talent in other sports so that athletes can prepare early to compete in more Sopma events in the future.”
Wong acknowledged that the association had faced difficulties securing support in its early years, noting it had to prove its capabilities through results before earning greater recognition.
“It was not easy to get government support in the past.
“We had to show what our athletes were capable of through their achievements.
“After seeing our results, we finally received a RM100,000 allocation under the Johor 2026 Budget.
“The funding will help us organise more programmes and further develop our athletes.”
Meanwhile, JSDeaf adviser Sam Chong said deaf athletes still received less recognition than they deserved despite their achievements.
“We hope more members of the public, non-governmental organisations and government agencies will support our athletes,” he said.
“They have the talent and determination to succeed, but need more opportunities and support from the community.”
