KUCHING: The Sarawak Games (Suksar) will be held next month as part of preparations for the Malaysia Games (Sukma) later this year, says Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The state Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister said Suksar was an important platform for identifying young athletes and preparing them for competition.
"We have agreed that Suksar should take place a year before Sukma.
"It should have been held last year, but we had too many events, including the Borneo Games, so it was brought forward to early this year," he told a press conference here on Friday (Jan 23).
Abdul Karim said the Feb 5-8 Games in Betong and Sri Aman would feature 11 sports with 105 gold medals on offer.
The sports are basketball, boxing, cycling, karate, netball, petanque, sepak takraw, softball, taekwondo, table tennis and weightlifting.
Over 250 athletes representing Sarawak's northern, central, western and southern zones are expected to take part in the Games.
The opening ceremony will take place at Dewan Sukan Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan in Betong, and the closing ceremony at the Sri Aman indoor stadium.
Abdul Karim said Sarawak aimed to field a strong contingent for Sukma, to be held in Selangor in August, following Suksar.
"We are the defending champions, so this will be a crucial Sukma for us to try to retain our title.
"My challenge to our sports associations is to make sure that we can succeed again," he said.
