KUALA LUMPUR: National women's sevens head coach Nik Safuan Ismade Nik Man, who tied the knot on Saturday, is set for new beginnings in his personal life and in rugby.
The former national men's captain is currently busy preparing the women's setup for the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games project, which is targeting a top-five finish at the event.
Nik, who is currently scouting for players for the programme, said he is not limiting his selection to only rugby players.
"If possible, the National Sports Council (NSC) want players between the ages of 18 and 22 for this (2026) programme. Currently, we have selected eight players," said Nik.
"We are continuing the search for players. We will scout players at Johor Malaysia Games in March.
"But we are also keeping our eyes open for athletes from other sports such as athletics or football who have the potential to do well in rugby. We will going from state to state to scout for them.
"It does not really matter which sport they are from as long as they have the height and pace which we need."
The Kuala Lipis-born is an multi-talented athlete. Besides rugby, he had also represented Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in equestrian show jumping at international competitions.
Beside rugby duties, Nik is also starting a new life as a family man with sweetheart Nurbidi Bregitta Wong Abdullah and stepson Ahmad Benjamin. The couple wed on Saturday.
Nik said he is grateful that his wife understands his busy schedule as both a national coach and assistance enforcement officer with the DBKL.
"We spoke about my commitments to rugby and DBKL before we got married and she is okay with it," added Nik.
"It is not easy as sometimes I can be very busy with work and coaching assignments."
Nik coached the women's team to bronze at both the 2017 Kuala Lumpur and 2019 Philippines Sea Games.
He had also coached the men's sevens squad to the silver medal at the 2015 Singapore edition.