WATCHING the break dancing competition unfolding in Asian Games for the first time in Hangzhou this week has only made Lego Sam Jee Lek a bitter person.
The 28-year-old may be a two-time SEA Games champion in men’s breaking but he was not allowed to participate in the Asiad despite agreeing to pay his own way to Hangzhou.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) had tightened the selection rules and deemed that only athletes ranked in the top eight in Asia would be accepted to be part of the Malaysian contingent.
Jee Lek took to Instagram to explain to his followers on why he was absent from the Asian Games stage when Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam had their representatives in the breaking competition.
“I usually do not like to complain but it was in July when I was told that I could not go to the Asian Games as I was not in the top eight,” he said.
“I wanted to use my own money to go and compete but they still would not let me.
“They only wanted athletes to have a chance to win medals to represent them. I was shocked to hear this. If all countries were to think like this, there will be only eight qualified athletes competing on the day of competition. Can a country be 100% sure that their athletes will win a medal?
“It’s so unfair as I’ve practised hard every day to go and compete to get the experience,” said Jee Lek, who added he felt compelled to speak up for the sake of the Malaysian breaking scene.
“Why do I need to meet the top eight requirements in the first place to qualify for the Asian Games when the country has not invested in me.
“I’ve been competing without a professional coach, without a place to train. I am not paid anything but I am still fighting for the country.
“From last year, I have been to almost eight competitions to try and earn Olympics ranking points.
“Each trip cost me RM15,000 to RM25,000. The government has helped one time but I usually have to cover the rest myself and I am grateful to get a bit of sponsorship.
“And lastly, I did qualify in the first place. I won the national qualification tournament but then the Asian Games were delayed by one year because of the pandemic, so in the end I still didn’t go.
“It’s just to let people know about my experience and why I am not in the Asian Games.”
The breaking competition ended yesterday with Japan’s Nakarai Shigeyuki and China’s Liu Qingyi taking gold in the men’s and women’s categories.
