KUALA LUMPUR: The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) have a new president.
Huang Ying How will helm the association for the next two years after incumbent Datuk Syed Mustaffa Syed decided to step down after serving for two terms.
Ying How was previously the deputy president and his post will be filled by Squash Racquets Association of Sarawak’s chairman Robert Lau.
At the 42nd annual general meeting on Sunday, the two vacant vice president positions were hotly contested with former SRAM general manager Peter Chee of Sarawak (42) and Penang’s Linda Geh (36) staving off the competition from Kedah’s Ramlee Abdullah (35) and Negri Sembilan’s Nik Razeen Adam Daud (30).
Other results saw former Malaysian No. 1 Mohd Azlan Iskandar, who recently made a comeback to the national team at the Asian Team Championship, earning one of the four committee member spots.
The 32-year-old Sarawakian amassed 61 votes, well ahead of Tunku Zain Al Abidin Tuanku Mukhriz (50), K. Subramaniam (45), Sim Chin Keong (42), Henry Tan (36), Tan Tian Huat (36) and Amran Ahmad (13).
Azlan, Tunku Zain, Subra-maniam and Chin Keong will join K. Sivanesen and Andrew Muthu whose positions were not up for election.
Meanwhile, Ying How was pleased with SRAM’s new line-up.
“Firstly, I’m grateful to Datuk Syed for taking SRAM on a positive direction and I only aim to make it better,” said Ying How.
“We have a good line-up who are from the states that are strongest in squash and from people who have been doing something meaningful in the sport such as Azlan.
“We have two immediate challenges – the first to develop and train our coaches, because I believe that the secret to a player’s success is the coaches.
“Secondly, with the Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) committing RM800,000 annually for the next three years, we are looking at developing the sport at university level so that our players can continue playing even after they finish high school.
“The idea is to develop a university league so that we have a transitional platform for players,” added Ying How.
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