PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 tower runner Soh Wai Ching (pic) is keeping his fingers crossed that the sport will be featured in the 2027 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
With the advantage of being the hosts, Malaysia have the right to determine the number and types of sports contested in the biennial games.
The 29-year-old Malaysian believes that the development of this sport is currently on the right track and is confident that he will be able to land a gold for Malaysia.
“The number of competitions being organised is increasing,” said Wai Ching.
“We hope that the government and Youth and Sports Ministry will consider including this sport in the SEA Games.
“I believe that I can secure a gold medal for the country, but it’s up to them to decide because the ball is on their court.
“We tried to schedule a meeting with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, but she is too busy so we couldn’t get a chance to meet and discuss with her. Last week, we had Menara Affin TRX Towerthon in Kuala Lumpur and we had other banks coming in to contact us as they also want to do a competition in their buildings for their staff.
“It is a good start for us that the ripple effect is coming up now and I’ll be there to promote it as well.”
Wai Ching has continued his winning streak in China as he emerged as the overall champion in the Chengdu-Chongqing Tower Running Open Championships yesterday.
He finished first in his race up the World Financial Centre, comprising 73 floors and 2,040 steps, in 10:41 in Chongqing.
“This was my third attempt at this building and I managed to improve my time from 10:50 to 10:41,” said Wai Ching. “I started off a little bit too conservative, so the pace was not fast enough and I only realised it when I passed through the halfway checkpoint.
“I tried to pick up my pace, pushed myself and gave my best but I believe that I can do better.
“Even though I have ran up there twice, it was five years ago in 2018, so I don’t really know the stairs structure here.
“However, I am very satisfied with my overall performance.”
