Never stop developing young sporting talents, even if our systems are not perfect yet - Expert

The quest to develop our young sporting talents to a world class level must continue even if there is the feeling that the processes to achieve it were not perfect yet.

Likening the process to a construction of a bridge, former National Sports Council Director-General, Datuk Dr

Ramlan Abdul Aziz said it is impossible for Malaysia to construct the 'perfect bridge' first before we can achieve our aspirations of continuously creating world class athletes.

"There is no need for you to build a perfect bridge before you cross the river.

"In my opinion that can be done while building the bridge. You can refine your systems, processes, and everything else as you go.

"This is because if we wait two or three years, we have already lost two or three cohorts of sporting talents," said Dr Ramlan who was also a former chief executive of the National Sports Institute.

He was speaking to Astro AWANI's Consider This on Malaysia's efforts in terms of identifying and incubating sports talent.

Also featured during the programme was Founding Principal of Sarina Rhythmic Gymnastics Club and the Founding President of Safe Sport Malaysia, Sarina Sundara Rajah.

"The modern day landscape of Olympic sports is more competitive than ever and one of the consequences is the increased focus on identifying and developing early athletic talent.

"This system, commonly known as a talent identification and development system, has significantly grown within the sport over the last 15 to 20 years, and often reflects considerable financial investment," said Sarina

She gave the example of United Kingdom, who reportedly spends approximately 100 million Pounds annually on identifying and developing sporting talent.

"The reality of working in sports is that we must make strategic investments and take targeted actions and interventions to grow a thriving sporting system.

"Other than that, I would like to emphasise that coaching and other key performance support services, including sports science, medicine and technology, are crucial in supporting our young talents," she added.