Suggestion on setting age limit for high-performance athletes

A far reaching concentrate should be done in case there is a need to draw an age line for superior competitors, said National Sports Council (NSC) chief general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail.

He said the age for superior competitors normally starts at 17, just subsequent to finishing secondary school, and it would typically take three Olympic cycles or 12 years for them to arrive at top execution.

“At under 17, they are as yet during the time spent ability arrangement and improvement, we are as yet sharpening that ability. From that point forward, (they are) simply beginning a cutthroat climate, rivaling different competitors. This is the point at which we perceive how far the competitors can go.

“For instance, (public badminton legend) Datuk Lee Chong Wei originally partook in the Olympics in 2004 (at 22 years old) and arrived at the highest point of his game at the 2016 Rio Olympics (at 34 years old prior to resigning in 2019),” he said at the National Sports Vision (VSN) 2030 virtual commitment meeting on High-Performance Sports today.

Ahmad Shapawi said this while noting an idea by one of the members in regards to drawing an age line for superior competitors.

He said there were additionally sports like shooting, bowling and grass bowls where competitors become more developed and better as they get more seasoned, because of the experience acquired en route.

“For instance, assuming we need to take (those) under 24 or 25, they are not developed at this point. We actually have competitors matured 29 or 30 who are as yet ready to perform well,” he said.

Related: Suggestion on setting age limit for high-performance athletes needs thorough study

During the three-hour meeting, which included almost 300 members from different levels, Ahmad Shapawi, in any case, conceded that there was a need to zero in on the unevenness in the proceeded with advancement of sports ability from school to the college level.

In the mean time, Ahmad Shapawi said the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) had activated the Integrated Sports Management System to record information identified with sports and ability advancement at different levels cross country.

“When the ability has been distinguished and prepared, one needs to enter in the ability’s record, what it resembled around then, and it stays there until he resigns. At first, it might be at the Ministry’s level however it will later be shared at all levels,” he said.

He likewise reminded every one of the public games affiliations that public youth titles ought to be given need and keep on being the pride of each lesser competitor in the country.