KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (NSC) aims to kill two birds with one stone with its Talent Transfer project.
NSC deputy director-general (sports development) Jefri Ngadirin said the programme will give the concerned athletes a new lease of life and expedite the development of “new” athletes.
He said, for example, Anis Amira Rosidi has successfully transitioned from athletics to cycling, and Wendy Ng from rhythmic gymnastics to diving.
The Talent Transfer programme will begin with three sports — diving, cycling and athletics — before expanding to others.
“We had two briefings, one in March and another in May. We are testing the water first with these three sports,” said Jefri.
“We planned to start in June, and the module is ready, but we have to postpone it until after the Paris Olympics. We will start with Malaysia Sports School (SSM) and State Sports Schools (SSN).
“The SSM and SSN have continuous programmes, and the athletes will be in ready condition. We are looking at athletes who could not progress further in their sports; they will be given a year to acclimatise to their new sports.
“Anis is a success story. In her first year after switching, she didn’t participate in any competition at all, but it worked for her. She advanced well and won a bronze medal (women’s team sprint) at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
“Wendy was a gymnast who competed up to Malaysian Schools Sports Council-level before taking up diving. We can look at gymnasts and wushu practitioners as they have the dexterity needed for diving.”
Jefri stressed that extensive discussions with coaches and national sports sssociations (NSAs) are necessary to identify suitable talents for the switch.
“Some sports have skill sets needed for other sports. This shortens the process of developing athletes. Starting from zero is tougher and time-consuming, but we now have athletes with higher standards in terms of physique and fitness.
“However, we need to monitor the athletes closely due to the psychological aspects. Changing their lifestyle is not easy. Some athletes showed good potential and performance in testing, but decided not to continue after some time.
“We need to ensure that the athletes receive the best support to continue in their new sports.”
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