Johor steals show as curtain comes down on 20th Sukma

Johor's maiden success, which surpassed the initial target of 40 golds by winning 77 golds, 52 silvers and 43 bronzes, saw them now emerge as the new powerhouse of Sukma since the games first organised in 1986. Sukma was often dominated by nine-time champions Selangor, in addition to Terengganu (five), Sarawak (three) and Federal Territories (two).

Two Johor athletes, rower Muhammad Fakhrullah Mohd Rumaize, 21, and 16-year-old swimmer Tan Rouxin have also been crowned the best Sukma male and female athletes.

Not only did he bag nine golds but Muhammad Fakhrullah also broke two national records for the K2 500 metres (m) event with a new record of one minute 43.045 seconds (s) and the K2 1000m (3:35.500s) while Rouxin showed excellent performance by bringing home six golds, one silver and one bronze.

Johor contingent chef de mission, Datuk Mohamad Najib Samuri, when met at the closing ceremony, issued an early warning by stating that the team was looking to collect 70 golds to win the overall title for the second time in a row.

Despite being postponed for four years following the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall performance of the 6,643 athletes who participated in 31 types of sports has been very encouraging when a total of 21 national records were successfully broken.

Of these, canoeing athletes broke 13 national records followed by shooting (five), cycling (two) and aquatics (one).

The proud achievement of our canoeists proves that more attention should be given to the sports by the National Sports Council (NSC) to polish new talent that has the potential to make the country famous in any international sports tournament or games in the future.

The presence of several champions such as the national 100m record holder, Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi from athletics, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Ng Tze Yong (badminton) and the shooting champion of the 2021 SEA Games, Nurul Syasya Nadiah Mohd Arifin, clearly did not disappoint.

Muhammad Azeem, representing Perak, as expected, emerged as the Sukma sprint king with a record of 10.25s while Tze Yong, who was unwell, beat the Federal Territories player, Leong Jun Hao, 18-21, 21-19, 21-12 to contribute gold for Johor and Nurul Syasya, also from Johor, collected four golds.

All said and done, kudos to NSC as it managed to ensure that the Games that took place around the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan and also Langkawi Island, Kedah, ran smoothly.

Not to be forgotten, the involvement of the unsung heroes of the 670 volunteers known as 'Satria Sukan Malaysia' from various backgrounds including students of higher education institutions, civil servants and private sector employees who are the backbone of the strength of Sukma journey should be appreciated by all parties.

However, 20th Sukma also attracted controversies including in football, weightlifting and cycling.

From the actions of the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation's (PABM) decision to withdraw from organising the sports to the incident of a team official chasing after the referee during a men's football semi-final match -- all these should be avoided by parties involved in the future.

From now the focus will surely shift to the preparations for the next Sukma host, with Johor reportedly set to host, in ensuring that Sukma's legacy to be continued two years from now.

The question is, can Johor defend its Sukma championship crown in the next edition?

Together we look forward to the 21st edition!