AFTER over a month of the re-implemented movement control order (MCO 2.0), all form of contact sports are still a no-go in Malaysia. As a result, all local, regional and international matches and competitions were cancelled or postponed, thus disrupting everybody from athletes and governing bodies to competition organisers and event sponsors.
Nevertheless, the ban makes sense. After all, contact sports such as basketball, football and rugby pose a much higher risk of COVID-19 transmissions between team members due to frequent close contact and shared sports equipment, among others.
In contrast, sports that involve individual participation and physical distancing such as cross country and golf, are less risky.
However, what is worth noting at this point is the fact that athletes often plan their lives around competitions, and the ban on contact sports have prevented them from being able to train or compete.
This in turn has serious repercussions on an athlete’s training programme, mental health and, in some cases, their desire to keep themselves in tip-top physical conditions.
Will they be able to catch up with their training once the ban is lifted?
More importantly, do the Malaysian Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS), the National Sports Council (NSC) and other relevant sports bodies have a plan in place that will help these athletes regain their physical prowess and confidence in the field, and further, to reinvigorate the sports ecosystem in Malaysia?
While a quarantine-based training approach with strict compliance to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) has gradually allowed athletes to resume training in a safe and controlled environment, it is certainly not the perfect long-term solution.
For better or for worse, athletes for contact sports have to persevere in these difficult times and plough on, even if this means training for the unknown.
After all, even with the gradual COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, it will be some time before matches and competitions be allowed to resume as normal. – Mar 2, 2021
Photo credit: New Straits Times
