Sukma XXI: Lack of preparation, training cause downfall of S’wak’s softball teams, says head coach

MIRI (Aug 17): Lack of preparation and training was the cause of Sarawak’s Malaysia Games (Sukma) XXI softball teams’ downfall, said its head coach Aaron Abel Donald.

He said all the state players were ‘not matured’ as they only had three months to carry out centralised training since this May.

In fact, he said Sarawak has softball players who have the potential to be trained and given sufficient exposure in preparation for the 2026 Sukma.

“Our fight for Sukma this time has ended, we can’t advance to the next round, but we will continue to fight to face the next Sukma 2026.

“We (men’s softball) have 10 athletes who can still participate in the next Sukma, therefore I will not give up, we will still fight for Sarawak, that is my promise to Sarawak,” he said when met by reporters after the third Group Round A match against Terengganu at IKBN Miri today.

Earlier, the Sarawak men’s and women’s softball teams’ aspirations of advancing to the semi-finals were ‘buried’ after losing to their respective opponents in the third action.

The Sarawak men’s softball team lost 6-4 to Terengganu, while the women’s softball team lost 16-10 to Pahang.

However, Aaron hoped that the Sarawak government will continue to support the softball teams’ efforts to further strengthen and improve their skills to face other upcoming tournaments.

“I would like to thank the Sarawak government for the support given ahead of Sukma 2024, we were able to send teams to compete in the Malaysia Open and centralised training as well as friendly matches in Singapore.

“I admit that exposure to the game is still not enough, I hope the government will continue to support our softball teams by sending players to compete against teams in the peninsula, as a way to open the eyes of our players,” he said.

Meanwhile, Aaron said he is grateful for the tireless support of locals who came to the field three days in a row to cheer for Sarawak.