File photo shows Jonathan (second left) with Sarawak teammates at the 2016 Sukma.
KUCHING (Oct 4): The Sarawak government will look into the situation of national sprinter Jonathan Nyepa who has been without a coach since July this year.
This is according to state Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who said his ministry will gather information on Jonathan’s plight.
The 26-year-old, who is also Sarawak’s top male sprinter, recently won the 100m at the Central Asian Athletics Championships in Uzbekistan.
“I need to get to the root of it. If it is really true that he has not been looked after or don’t have a coach, we will look into it if it comes to our Sarawak Sports Corporation,” he said when asked on the matter.
The minister was at a press conference after concluding a coordination meeting organised for the 25th Miss Tourism International World Final 2022/2023 at Raia Hotel and Convention Centre here yesterday.
He pointed out he was not aware of the prevailing situation faced by Jonathan but believed the national runner could still contribute positively on the national stage.
“Jonathan is a national athlete. When you are a national athlete, you would be under Bukit Jalil. He did not inform us also whether he has been dropped or not.”
“But for him to represent Malaysia in an international event, there must be somebody sponsoring it. So, I need to get to the root of it,” said Abdul Karim.
Nonetheless, he stressed the ministry is willing to help Jonathan sort out his predicament.
Jonathan clinched the gold medal with a time of 10.55secs in the 100m in the international meet held in Uzbekistan last month.
It was reported he had been training without a coach since the contract of his coach M. Balamurugan was not extended by the National Sports Council.
Jonathan, who holds the Sarawak records of 10.28s (100m) and 20.92 (200m), has been ranked among Malaysia’s top sprinters since the 2015 SEA Games.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3M0LeWx
via IFTTT
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