S’wak Wushu Centre built in time for 21st Sukma

KUCHING (Aug 12): Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is very happy that the Sarawak Wushu Training Centre at the Sarawak Sports Complex, Petra Jaya has been completed ahead of schedule.

The biggest wushu centre in Malaysia, costing about 15.5 million and sitting on 3.1 acres of land, will be the venue of the wushu competition for Sukma XXI Sarawak.

He congratulated Wushu Federation of Sarawak (WFS), Public Works Department (JKR) and the main contractor who he said have been working day and night to complete it.

“And WFS deserved to have a ‘home’ of their own where they can do their training and organise competitions at national regional and international level,” he told reporters after officiating the soft opening of the facility recently.

The minister noted that the sport delivered many gold medals to Sarawak in past editions of Sukma and produced many athletes who reached international standards.

On his expectations of the state wushu squad in the coming Sukma, he affirmed his faith that the athletes will display their abilities to bring glory to Sarawak.

“Our wushu athletes, who are in the development stage,  may be facing many national exponents from other states but I believe that the new wushu centre will inspire them to do well, plus the fact that they are competing on homeground with support from the locals and that they have undergone training stint in China, they can deliver the good news before the official opening of Sukma XXI on Aug 17,” he said as the wushu competition will take place from August 14 to 16.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development permanent secretary Morshidi Fredrick, Sarawak Sports Corporation CEO Awang Putrayusrie Awang Redzuan, WFS president Allen Wong Siew Poh and his deputy James Ting Ing Seek who is also Sukma XXI wushu team manager.