KUALA LUMPUR: The country's sports arena today was shocked by the passing of Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong, a respected and revered sports analyst of calibre.

Zolkples, 62, the former National Sports Council (NSC) director-general, died at his residence in Pandan Indah here, this morning.

Born on March 1, 1959, in Dungun, Terengganu, his contribution to sports began in 1982 when he was a sports officer in the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS).

The holder of a Master's Degree in Social Sciences and Humanities from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) was then appointed as the deputy director of the NSC Development Programme from 1987 to 1992.

Zolkples was then made NSC Management Programme director, a post he held for 13 years until 2005.

In April 2007, Zolkples reached the peak of his career when he was appointed the NSC director-general just a year after serving as deputy director-general of the country's sports governing body.

During his seven years as NSC director-general, his love for sports continued to blossom and it was proven when he took on the responsibility of being the Malaysian chef de mission to the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

His wisdom in managing the preparation of the national contingent saw Malaysia win nine gold medals in Guangzhou, thus making it the country's best-ever achievement in the Asiad.

Following the success, Zolkples, who also had a deep interest in developing para sports, was made the Malaysian chef de mission for the 2012 London Paralympic Games, which marked the beginning of the glorious episode of the national squad to date.

After more than 30 years with the KBS and NSC, Zolkples officially relinquished his post as director-general in December 2014 and was appointed chief executive officer of the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

After his contract with NSC expired, Zolkples' services and expertise in sports management continued to be sought after and he was appointed as Terengganu sports advisor in December 2014.

Thanks to his love for and deep interest in sports, Zolkples, who never married, continued to work to uplift the prestige of national sports by sharing his views and experiences to achieve progress and success in sports.

His vast knowledge and experience also elevated him as one of the authoritative sports analysts and critics, thus becoming the figure of choice and a place for local journalists to seek information and insightful views.

Zolkples' contribution in the field of sports was recognised when he received the Sports Management Award at the 2012 National Sports Industry Awards Ceremony.

His body was bathed at the Seri Petaling Mosque here and is expected to be laid to rest at Kampung Sura, Dungun, today.

-- BERNAMA