Sweating it out: Adam Adli Abdul Halim attempting to shoot the ball into the basket during the launching ceremony of the Gatorade MVP 3x3 Basketball Tour at the KL Gateway Mall. — CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The main focus of the Youth and Sports Ministry this year will be preparing athletes for the three biggest events – the SEA Games, Asian Games and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim said funding for Budget 2023, which is set to be re-tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Dewan Rakyat sitting on Feb 24, will be mainly allocated for these events.
The SEA Games is set to take place in Cambodia from May 5-17 while the Asian Games will be from Sept 23-Oct 8 in Hangzhou, China.
“The athletes will be sent overseas for tournaments to get quality exposure. We are trying to get a bit more allocation but so will the other ministries,” he said. “Due to the economic constraints, we need to be considerate and we are trying to cut cost where it’s unnecessary to spend.
“For example, we held the recent National Sports Awards ceremony at our own facility at the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil,” said Adam at the launching ceremony of the Gatorade MVP 3x3 Basketball Tour at the KL Gateway Mall.
The tournament consists of 10 circuits to be held nationwide from Feb 19 to Nov 19.
The events are divided into the Under-18 boys and girls, Under-16 boys and Under-14 boys and the Open category.
The winners of the 10 circuits will receive RM140,000 worth of cash voucher, goodies and medals.
Adam praised Malaysia Basketball Association’s (Maba) initiative in organising the tournament.
“This tour is a good initiative by Maba to unearth young talent,” he said. “In earlier years, this tour was only held in Selangor but now is being organised all over the country which is really good to see.
“More tournaments at community level such as this should be organised, especially in emerging sports with the aid of corporate parties,” said Adam.
