VIENTIANE, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong today described the move taken by several Asean countries to use imported athletes at the SEA Games as a short-cut to achieve success.
He said the use of imported athletes was getting too obvious in several sports like football, table-tennis and badminton.
"Malaysia's Cabinet committee on sports development had at one time allowed the use of imported athletes if necessary, but in the long run, it will be to the country's loss," he told reporters here Monday.
He was commenting on remarks by Malaysian athletes who lamented over the excessive use of imported athletes among the participating countries at the 25th SEA Games here, which will officially open on Dec 9.
Yesterday, Malaysian table-tennis player, Mohd Syakirin Ibrahim lamented that Singapore would field a fully-imported squad from China and that Myanmar would follow suit.
Zolkples said at the SEA Games in Korat, Thailand, two years ago, almost half of the players in the Singapore football team were imported.
He said Malaysia also had two imported players, namely national walker Yuan Yu Fang who is from China and former national shooter, Irina Maharani from Russia.
"Both women, especially Yu Fang, did contribute to Malaysia's victories in their respective sports, but in the long run, we also want Malaysian-born athletes to stand tall in the eyes of the world," he said.
On other developments, Zolkples said Yu Fang had told him that she had to withdraw from competing in the SEA Games as she was now pregnant.
-- BERNAMA
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