KUCHING: The corporate sector plays a vital role in helping the state’s sports development, especially on producing more talented athletes.
Such involvement could go beyond sponsorships and financial support, said Assistant Minister of Youth Development (Urban) Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“Corporate sector’s involvement in sports development could help produce more good sportsmen and sportswomen in fields such as cycling and swimming.
“We assure you that the government would still be providing assistance, as we encourage more sponsor from the corporate sector to come forward,” he told the media after performing the ‘Corbusier-Samudra Hotel-Polygon Team Presentation’ at Samudra Hotel here yesterday.
Hotel’s executive director Rizal Wahab, Team Corbusier principal Safri Mohammed, Polygon/Rodalink Sarawak representative Alex Kho, state cycling coach Leon Schepers, and Team Corbusier logistics manager Mohammad Royzaid Musa were also present.
Abdul Karim said having partnerships with the corporate sector could reap in lots of benefits such as funding for development works, as well as accomplishing shared goals. He expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Samudra Hotel and Polygon for sponsoring Team Corbusier — a local cycling group that will be taking part in this year’s road-racing season.
The team has already established its presence in the state’s cycling fraternity, strengthened by its standing as the only local club to have worn the coveted Yellow Jersey at Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)-run Tour of Borneo 2013.
Abdul Karim said he hoped that with the involvement from corporate bodies like Samudra Hotel and Polygon, it would help develop more young professional cyclists.
Meanwhile, the 2016 Tour of Sarawak will take place this March 16, running from Miri to here. This will be a five-stage race marked as a ‘UCI 2.2’ event.
Team Corbusier-Samudra Hotel-Polygon consists of Philippines national rider and winner of the recent ‘Tour of the Philippines’ KOM jersey Ronnel Hualda; Andrew Drayton, a top mountain biker from Durban, South Africa; national rider Mohd Rauf Nor Misbah; and top Borneo trio Fito Prilanji of Indonesia; and state’s own Supian Nor and Laurel Lauridsen.
These riders have won numerous podium placings in major cycling events, both locally and internationally, and will form a good competitive unit for the team this year.
Their backup riders are Mohd Afiq, Mohd Zahin, Charles Diking, Zaid Ismail, Yudi Rachmad, Iqbal Fernando and Radian Saputra.
A spokesperson said the team’s objective for this year would be to challenge for high podium placings across all events listed on the road-cycling calendar.
Team Corbusier is also known for developing junior riders. It currently has around 30 junior riders aged 12 to 18.
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