Show your skills in Suksar to earn Sukma 2026 spot, says S’wak boxing head coach

KUCHING (Jan 28): Sarawak boxing head coach Mohamad Helman Morni has called on young and aspiring boxers to showcase their abilities at the upcoming Sarawak Games (Suksar IV 2026) if they hope to represent the state at the Malaysian Games (Sukma) in Selangor this August.

He said Suksar will serve as the main evaluation platform for the Sukma 2026 squad.

“As the head coach, I emphasise that Suksar 2026 is the arena to assess potential for the formation of the Sukma 2026 team.

“Every boxer is required to show their best performance, maintain high training discipline, demonstrate full commitment and have the mental readiness to compete at top-level championships such as Sukma,” he said when contacted.

Sarawak Amateur Boxing Association (Saba) president Dato Rahman Lariwoo meanwhile said he expects a long list of names after the event, which will then be narrowed down to final selections.

“After Suksar, we will have a long list, then finalise the boxers. For Sukma in the last two years, some of them were retained but a selection process is still needed,” he said.

Boxing at Suksar IV 2026 will take place from Feb 5 to 8 at the Indoor Stadium of the Sri Aman Sports Complex.

Saba, the state body responsible for developing and managing amateur boxing talent, is expected to select nine male and three female boxers to represent Sarawak.

The fourth edition of Suksar, co-hosted across Sri Aman and Betong, features 11 sports and will involve more than 1,000 athletes from the North, Central, West and South Zones competing for state recognition.

The Games will officially open on Feb 4 at Dewan Sukan Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan in Betong, with the closing ceremony scheduled for Feb 8 at the Sri Aman Indoor Stadium.

Selected boxers will undergo a series of intensive international training programmes leading up to Sukma 2026.

These include the Sarawak International Boxing Championship in Miri in May, training stints in Pontianak and Jakarta in June, and a month-long final camp in Manila in July.