KUALA LUMPUR: Several factors contribute to why world champion cyclist Azizulhasni Awang and other national cyclists train in Melbourne, Australia and not here at home.
"It's not just about the (renowned) velodrome (here). Coach John Beasley is based in Melbourne.
"The second factor is that a lot of the competitions and training (held there) are of world calibre, and if they stayed in Malaysia, they would not have the competition ecosystem, (and that would be) a loss for our cyclists," said Sports and Youth Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin.
Meanwhile, Khairy also commented on talks of a new rugby stadium being built here due to the success of the men's 15s at the Asian Rugby Championship, where they successfully defended the Division One title for a second consecutive year.
Two locations – Putrajaya and Universiti Putra Malaysia – were identified as possible venues, but the Sports Ministry and the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) need to evaluate and assess the matter before coming to a decision.
Khairy added that his working visit to New Zealand last month paved the way for Malaysia’s sevens team’s current training session in Auckland for Aug's Sea Games.
"I went to New Zealand recently and worked out a partnership for training in New Zealand. The men's sevens are currently in New Zealand and we are working with the NZ All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby Union (NZR) to turn our goals into reality," he said during the KL2017 Malaysian Organising Committee (MASOC)’s announcement for the Sukan Sea Run 2017.
In an effort to attract public participation at KL2017, MASOC will organise the run – in collaboration with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) – on Aug 19, on the morning of the Sea Games opening ceremony.
The run will coincide with the Sea Games Long Distance Marathon and will flag-off at 7am at the compound of the Perbadanan Putrajaya Complex at Persiaran Perdana in Presint 3, Putrajaya.
About 20,000 participants are expected to take part in the 15km run, which will also see the 5km category open for anyone who wants to participate.
KL2017 will take place from Aug 19-30 for the Sea Games and Sept 17-23 for the Asean Para Games.