KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) would submit an appeal to the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) over the exclusion of several medal prospect events in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.
Thailand, during the recent SEAGF Sports and Rules Committee meeting in Bangkok, proposed a 40-event programme, including flying disc and tug-of-war as demonstration sports for the 33rd SEA Games, scheduled for December 9-20 next year in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla.
Karate and wushu — Malaysia’s gold-mine sports — as well as jujitsu, lawn bowls, and weightlifting, were excluded from the list.
OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria today said OCM is compiling feedback from the respective national sports associations (NSAs) to submit the appeal before the August 31 deadline.
“Under the SEAGF Charter and Rules, every host country is entitled to propose a list of preliminary sports from various categories after discussion with their government. This is subject to the final approval by the SEAGF Council after considering the appeals of other countries.
“Firstly, the local NSA must lobby, and the sport must represent the majority of the 11 competing countries, with each event having a minimum participation of four countries.
“This is a process everyone will follow, where the final list must be confirmed at least 15 months before the opening ceremony, which is around September 9 this year,” he told reporters after officiating the World Taekwondo Kyorugi and Poomsae International Referee Seminar and Refresher Course at Wisma OCM here today.
Commenting on the exclusion of weightlifting, Norza said it is due to doping violations in the host country, but with many countries wanting the popular Olympic sport held, he hopes the appeal will be received positively.
Meanwhile, OCM in a statement announced Norza has been appointed second vice-chairman of the SEAGF Executive Committee at the same meeting.
“It is in accordance with Article 11.3 of the SEAGF Charter and Rules and by virtue of Malaysia being the next host of the SEA Games, the 34th edition in 2027,” the statement read.
At the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, the national contingent faced its worst outing by finishing seventh with 34 gold, 45 silver and 97 bronze, failing to achieve its 40-gold target.
Karate contributed four gold, two silver and four bronze, and wushu delivered 2-2-6, while weightlifting and jujitsu bagged one bronze each.
Lawn bowls, another strong prospect for Malaysia, was last hosted in the 2019 SEA Games, when the national squad swept four gold and two bronze from six events contested.
— Bernama
