Blazing the lanes - An interview with Sidney Tung

We had the opportunity to catch up with Mr. Sidney Tung, the Secretary General of Malaysian TenPin Bowling Congress (MTBC) - one of the longest serving and dedicated officials in Malaysian Sports today. Hear what he has to say...

JY :   How did you first get involved in bowling?

ST:   I started bowling as a social bowler with a group of friends. After a few months, I got hooked to the game as I saw improvement week after week. Since then, became a crazy bowler bowling 6 times a week !  I started taking part in some local tournaments and had myself involved in organizing  events with some bowling centers.

In 1976, together with my team-mates who bowled almost every night together, founded the Kuala Lumpur Tenpin Bowling Federation.  We did very well as the best state association for Tenpin Bowling those days as we became the first state affiliate of MTBC to circulate a monthly news letter, and sending bowlers to represent the state in nearby Asean tournaments (ie Thai Open, Singapore Open and Indonesia Open etc.)  I was called up by MTBC to become Assistant Secretary in 1978, and took on the post as Secretary General since 1980 till today. 

JY  :  You've contributed a lot to the sports particularly with your involvement with MTBC . What's your motivation/inspiration for doing so till today?

ST :  The love in the sport of Tenpin Bowling is the major motivation and inspiration of my involvement with the sport until today. The satisfaction of seeing the success of our national bowlers in international events is ever rewarding for all the work and effort put in. It is beyond words when you see how our bowlers fight for honours in major tournaments, the celebration with tears after winnings and hearing the Negara Ku being  played. 

JY  :  There's been criticism that sports officials hold on to their position for too long. What's your view on that? Do you agree that there should be a fixed term for sports officials?

ST :  A sport  official serving an association is to ensure the particular sport is well regulated, well managed and well promoted with good results and money well spent. If an official is capable of fulfilling all these, and the sport is gaining in popularity and achievements, is there a need to change the official? Do we need to change an official just for the sake of change. On the other hand, if an official is not performing and the association is not managed well, then there needs to be change to see better things. 

JY  :  MTBC is one of the most successfully run association in the country, in your opinion why is it so? 

ST : In my opinion, again it is the love in the sport. The fully committed officials/volunteers are all heavily involved in a sport that they love wholeheartedly without any political or personal agendas. The leadership of Dato Dr. PS Nathan who himself was a great bowler, has great knowledge of the game and a great administrator, is the main key to the successful running of MTBC.

JY  :   MTBC has consistently produced world-class bowlers, why / how is it so?

ST :  Any sport must have a sound and solid development program to lead to success. MTBC put in place an 8-years nationwide development program in early 90s with the support of NSC to bring Tenpin Bowling in Malaysia to world standards. We achieved our target in 2003 when we won both the Men and Women’s Titles in the World Tenpin Team Cup in Odense,  Denmark, and in the same year won the Women’s Team Gold in the World Championship.  All members in the winning teams came from the development program which is still in existence and our source of new talent surfacing.

JY  :   Lately the NSC has decided to cut budget to sports associations across the board, how will this affect MTBC?

ST :  The decision to cut the budget for all sports associations by NSC will definitely affect the development of the sports.  Bowling is no different. But MTBC is in a process of finalizing our program, and getting back to NSC to seek the best possible funding to carry on with our development programme to our best. Failing which we are hoping to get other sponsors to come in to help to continue the development programs. 

JY :   When you're not involve in bowling, how do you like to spend your time?

ST :  Reading, surfing internet and spending time with my family, especially my grand- daughter.

JY :     Your outlook for the future of bowling in Malaysia?

ST :  With the Professional bowlers eligible to bowl in all tournaments, and the improvement from many other countries, it will be difficult for Malaysia to repeat their achievements as we did in the past.  The cutting of fund by NSC will make it more difficult to repeat our performance. We need to work very hard to ensure the best we can achieve with the limited resources.

JY :    Your advise on aspiring bowlers? 

ST :   Put more effort in strengthening oneself physically and technically, and to give nothing short of their  best  in every tournament they participate

JY :   Any last words? 

ST :    

Tenpin Bowling is one of the very few Sports that already reached world level. The government should work together with OCM to try and lobby for Tenpin Bowling to be included in the Olympic Games

Tenpin Bowling is one of the top Sports in the country,  it is a family game and is recognized by the government. All bowling equipments and bowling balls imported are tax free. But sadly the state governments are still demanding an entertainment fee to be paid annually for all bowling centers in the country. I brought this up with the previous few Sport Ministers, who promised to look into that, but no action has been done. This has to be looked into and the entertainment tax removed so that bowling centre owners can assist the game progress further.

 - interviewed by Jerome Yan

For the Glory of the Nation or Personal Fame ???

Was browsing through facebook lately and bumped into facebook pages belonging to some national backup players. Can't seem to understand why on earth do these guys own a facebook page ! Call me old-fashioned or cynical but I think these guys should instead focus their energies on producing results consistently in the international scenes (instead of crashing out in the early rounds usually) before they think of starting a facebook page.

In my view, you gotta "earn the right to portray yourself as a personality". Not that I'm against athletes having personal facebook pages, just that if you do, please have substance to back up your ego. Once you start achieving and producing results consistently , the fans will follow.  Period !

Yummy ! Champ League Quarters 2011

Which match you're looking forward to the most? Any potential upsets in the cards? =)

Quarter-finals: 1st League (April 5 & 6) , 2nd League (April 12 & April 13 )

World-class line-up for the 6th CIMB KL Open Squash Championships 2011

Press Release 
16/3/2011

Kuala Lumpur: CIMB today announced its title sponsorship of the CIMB KL Open Squash Championships 2011 for the sixth consecutive year. Taking place from 15 March to 20 March 2011, the tournament boasts a world-class line-up and promises exciting action for all squash fans, both from Malaysia and abroad.


To mark the sponsorship of the event, Dato’ Mohd Shukri Hussin, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Foundation, presented a mock cheque to Dato’ Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali, President of Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) and Organising Chairman of CIMB KL Open, witnessed by Dato’ Charon Wardini Mokhzani, Deputy CEO, Corporate & Investment Banking, CIMB Group, and Dato’ Zolkples Embong, Director-General of The National Sports Council of Malaysia (NSC).

Dato’ Mohd Shukri Hussin, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Foundation handing over the title sponsor mock cheque to  Dato’ Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali, President of Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM). Witnessing the handover were Dato’ Charon Wardini Mokhzani, Deputy CEO, Corporate & Investment Banking, CIMB Group, and Dato’ Zolkples Embong, Director-General of The National Sports Council of Malaysia. 

“A top-notch championship such as the CIMB KL Open is very important as a good run at the championship provides our local budding players an opportunity to gain valuable world ranking points. We are pleased to have the support from CIMB to make this tournament a world-class sporting event,” said Dato’ Syed. 

Reiterating Dato’ Syed’s message, Dato’ Shukri added that CIMB is indeed proud to maintain its title sponsorship of this tournament that has not only gained international recognition, but it is also serving exceedingly well as a platform for the advancement of squash in Malaysia.

Fans can again expect to be captivated and inspired by the skill, determination and sheer talent of athletes at the top of their game. In the Women’s event, it will be a battle among the world’s best as 12 out of the top 13 women players in the world will be vying for the title.

Leading the pack as the defending champion and World No. 1 is our very own Dato’ Nicol David, who will be facing stiff competition from rivals Jenny Duncalf (World No. 2 from England) and Rachel Grinham (World No. 3 from Australia). Also in the Main Draw is Laura Massaro (World No. 8 from England) who is hoping to repeat her victory of defeating Dato’ Nicol earlier this year, ending Dato’ Nicol’s unbeaten 14-month winning streak. Malaysia’s fast rising star, Low Wee Wern (World No. 13) also makes the Main Draw on her own merit. Other Malaysians starting in the qualifying round are Delia Arnold (World No. 20) and Siti Munirah Jusoh (World No. 44). This star-studded line-up makes it almost equivalent to a World Women’s Championship.

In the Men’s event, former World No. 1 and current World No. 3, Karim Darwish, is back to avenge his defeat in the finals last year, but he will first have to fend off competition from former two-time World Junior Champion and current World No. 9, Mohamed El Shorbagy, who is seeded No. 2 in this championship. The Main Draw will also feature three Malaysians, namely Mohd Azlan Iskandar (World No. 10), Ong Beng Hee (World No. 23), and wildcard Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (World No. 47).

As with previous years, the preliminary rounds will be held at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil. Quarterfinals onwards will be staged in a glass court mounted at the concourse area of Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur.

CIMB KL Open remains a highly rated Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) Gold-45 for the Women’s event with total prize money of US$53,500, while the Men’s event is a Professional Squash Association (PSA) International 50 with total prize money of US$50,000.

In conjunction with the title sponsorship announcement, CIMB Foundation, SRAM and the NSC also inked an agreement renewing CIMB Foundation’s commitment as Rakan Sukan Squash. This covers title sponsorship of the KL and Malaysian Open, the CIMB Junior Squash Development Programme, and administrative expenses of SRAM.


To find out how YOU can win 2 Tickets to the Finals on Sunday, March 20th 2011. Click HERE 

Faces of Malaysian Sports 2010

Heartiest Congratulations to the winners of Anugerah Sukan Malaysia 2010.  You guys have made us proud and give us hope! Perhaps one minor thing that bothered me was our sports minister announcement that he is optimistic about achieving 4 gold medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games. To me this is unnecessary pressure on the athletes especially young diver Pandelela. 

The night however wasn't just about Nicol and Azizul Awang but also deserving winners as follows :-

Olahragawan Kebangsaan 
Azizulhasni Awang (Cycling)

Olahragawati Kebangsaan 
Nicol Ann David (Squash)

Pasukan Lelaki Kebangsaan 
Hockey 

Pasukan Wanita Kebangsaan 
Squash 

Olahragawan Paralimpik Kebangsaan 
Zul Amirul Sidi Abdullah (Swimming) 

Olahragawati Paralimpik Kebangsaan 
Nabilah Ahmat Sharif (Badminton) 

Jurulatih Lelaki Kebangsaan 
Stephen Van Huizen & Tai Beng Hai (Hockey) 

Anugerah Kepimpinan Kebangsaan 
Prof Datuk W Y Chin (Snooker & Billards) 

Anugerah Khas 
Datuk Lim Teong Kiat (Badminton) & Datuk Nashatar Singh Sidhu (Athletics)

*photo source from Bernama & The Star

CIMB KL Open 2011 Contest

Win yourself 2 tickets to watch the finals of the CIMB KL Open 2011on Sunday, March 20th ! All you need to to do is to log on to the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) website -  http://www.malaysiasquash.org/ and find the answers for the following questions. It's sooooo easy! =) 
Question 1 :
Besides Nicol , name two (2) Malaysian women squash players who are in the WISPA Top 20 rankings.
Question 2:
Who is Malaysian 3rd men singles players according to the PSA latest rankings ? 


Send in your entries to our email (msian4sports@gmail.com) in the following order :-
Name : 
Phone number :
Tell us which squash player you want to meet most & why?


All the best folks ! =)


*Tickets are to be collected at venue on day of match. 

EPL Masters Football Malaysia Cup 2011

Full Results:

Malaysia 1 Man Utd 3
All-Stars 4 Liverpool 2
All-Stars 5 Malaysia 3
Liverpool 4 Man Utd 3
All-Stars 1 Man Utd 4
Liverpool 5 Malaysia 2

FINAL

All-Stars 3 Man Utd 2

No. 25 in Asia

Based on latest ranking published by AFC. 

 1 Japan
 2 Australia
 3 Korea Republic
 4 Uzbekistan
 5 Iran
 6 Iraq
 7 Qatar
 8 Jordan
 9 China PR
10 Bahrain
11 Syria
12 Korea DPR
13 United Arab Emirates
14 Kuwait
15 Saudi Arabia
16 India
17 Oman
18 Yemen
19 Thailand
20 Singapore
21 Vietnam
22 Indonesia
23 Lebanon
24 Hong Kong
25 Malaysia
26 Maldives

Memang Bodoh !

Came across this today, and I find this ridiculous and spoken with little sense. Isn't this the guy who boldly offered to resign (but still sitting in his chair until today) if the sepak takraw team didn't come back with the gold in the Asian Games 2010? 




FROM Malaysian Sports (Today's back pages!)
"Jangan Jadi Bodoh"

PERSATUAN Sepak Takraw Malaysia (PSM) enggan menggunakan kepakaran jurulatih Thailand sebagai salah satu langkah meningkatkan prestasi skuad kebangsaan agar kembali dihormati di peringkat antarabangsa selepas beberapa kegagalan sebelum ini termasuk di Sukan Asia 2010.

Presiden, Datuk Ahmad Ismail berkata, terdapat bahaya yang bakal dihadapi skuad kebangsaan jika melantik jurulatih berasal dari negara yang sememangnya menjadi musuh tradisi Malaysia sejak dulu lagi.

“Kita tidak mahu kelemahan dan strategi pemain kebangsaan terdedah dengan mudah jika melantik mereka,” katanya selepas menghadiri mesyuarat jawatankuasa kerja bersama PSM dan Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) di Bukit Jalil, semalam.
Beliau sebaliknya berkata, PSM dan MSN mencapai persetujuan melantik Jamaluddin Hassan sebagai ketua jurulatih yang baru bagi menggantikan Iskandar Arshad yang bertindak sebagai penolong jurulatih bersama-sama Ahmad Jais Baharom untuk tempoh empat tahun sehingga 2014.

Namun, menurutnya, PSM tidak menolak sepenuhnya kepakaran daripada negara jiran itu apabila melantik Taweet Wongkaen dan Prawet Intar yang juga bekas pemain kebangsaan negara Gajah Putih itu sebagai perunding bagi memberikan pandangan dan idea demi kebaikan skuad kebangsaan. “Mereka akan diberikan tugas memantau dengan rapi prestasi pemain bagi mengenalpasti kelemahan serta memberi cadangan untuk membaikinya,” katanya.

Menurut Ahmad lagi, pihaknya kini mempunyai matlamat baru iaitu meraih sekurang-kurangnya satu pingat emas di Sukan Asia 2014 di Korea Selatan selepas kegagalan meraih pingat emas di Sukan Sea 2009 dan Sukan Asia 2010. “Namun, untuk Sukan Sea di Indonesia pada November ini, saya berpendapat masih terlalu awal untuk menetapkan sasaran meraih pingat emas,” katanya yang menjelaskan mereka kini di dalam proses untuk memilih 18 pemain terbaik bagi membentuk skuad kebangsaan yang baru.

- Malaysian Sports (Today's back pages!)

IT’S NOT JUST A GAME !

PASSION. One of the first things that is associated with sports. It is the common ground that unites players, fans, families and even nations. To a nation like Brazil or England, it’s football. In India, it’s cricket. The list goes on.

It is not uncommon for players and fans to feel dejected, angry and even cry when their team loses. Statement like “It’s just a game lah” irks me more than anything else. It’s not just a game! It’s the underlying sense of belonging and passion that inspires all fans to throng the stadiums in waves and to stay up late to cheer for their teams. For the players, it’s their reason to fight for the shirt. Just ask Wayne Rooney or the likes of Dato’ Soh Chin Aun, James Wong and Santokh Singh (and many more) closer to home. Everyone needs inspiration in life, some take it from books, some from historic events, some from personal life and some like me, from our teams. Everyone has ideals and for us it is our team. It’s not just Liverpool or Manchester United, it’s a part of our lives.

For example, there is more to football than 22 players on the field. It’s the fans and people behind the scenes who make the football experience possible. From the stadium keeper to the fans, from the players to the security guards. In the ongoing world cup, we see passionate fans from all over the world paint their faces, show up with colourful outfits to shout and cheer for their teams. The buzzing sound of the vuvezelas add excitement to the fiesta. Imagine if it’s just a game. There will be 22 players kicking the ball about without any sense of purpose. There’s no reason for fans to throng the stadiums or stay up late and for some miss school or work.  The world cup is one of the largest parties (if not largest) and the world celebrates together regardless of race, colour or religion.

Yes, it can be sometimes amusing or bewildering for people to understand why adults would cry and mourn over a match but then again, that’s the craze of the game. How else would you see a large numbers of adults crying at the same time? Best part of it, they couldn’t be bothered if you caught them in the act.

These games are more than a form of entertainment, they are a part of our lives and it does not feel good when someone says “aiyor, it’s just a game lar”. Of course, for someone who does not share the passion, it may certainly be difficult to understand the emotion. We all have some form of passion in our lives, so why is it that difficult to understand that a game can be more than just a recluse from the tensions of life. On a bigger picture, the game has many times proved to unite nations and break barriers far more effective than a bunch of people trying to solve things over meetings or using violence. Now you tell me, if it’s just a game.

The BIG Red Showdown

This match this Sunday can't get more exciting than this. There's so much to play for - Liverpool pulling all their strings to halt the Devils from winning their 19th crown therefore overtaking the Merseysiders. It just can't get any bigger than this for all football fans ! =)

There's a bit of a history between King Kenny & Sir Alex with the former successfully denying United the EPL crown in 1995 as manager of Blackburn. Fast forward, Ferguson has one over Daglish having beaten the Reds by a solitary goal when they met in the FA Cup earlier this year.

Reds fans awaits news if their 35million pound man , Carroll will be playing some part and the Devils may not have Sir Alex on the touchline after his rant on Mr. Atkinson.

Whichever sides you're on, this is all set-up for a mouth-watering clash between two of the fiercest rivalry in football. So which side are you on ? =)

EPL Masters Football Malaysia Cup 2011

The much anticipated Masters Football Asia is back in town! And it's much more exciting this year with the participation of legends like Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole, Bryan Robson, our own Zainal Abidin and many more! Stand a chance to WIN 2 tickets to watch them in action next Sunday, March 13th 2011 at Stadium Putra - Bukit Jalil courtesy from our friends at City Golf =)

All you need to do is to log on to their website http://www.citygolf.com.my/ and tell us when they hosting the "American Pool Contest" . All we need to know is the date and time of the contest plus a short reason stating why you'd like to watch your favourite players in action at the EPL Masters Football Cup. Send in your entries to our email (msian4sports@gmail.com) in the following order :-

Name :
Phone Number :
Answer :
Reasons for wanting to meet your favourite players :

You may win yourself additional VIP tickets to hangout with them in a closed event hosted by City Golf. Find out how by logging in to their website ;)