Petanque bukan prospek

KETUA Kontinjen Malaysia ke Sukan SEA Laos, Datuk Dr. Ramlan Abd. Aziz (kiri) menyampaikan kata-kata semangat kepada atlet petanque negara
di Kompleks Sukan MSN, Taman Keramat, Kuala Lumpur semalam.

SANDARAN NEGARA... Syafiq Abd. Razak (kanan) dan Firdaus Adli Bakri gigih menjalani latihan menjelang Sukan SEA bulan depan.

SUKAN petanque bukanlah acara pilihan untuk menyumbang pingat emas buat kontinjen negara pada Sukan SEA ke-25 di Laos bulan depan.

Begitupun, jurulatih negara, Zulkifli Salim mengakui ia sama sekali tidak mematahkan semangat juang anak buahnya untuk memberikan aksi terbaik apabila mula turun gelanggang pada 10 hingga 18 Disember ini.

Malah Zulkifli juga mengakui, barisan skuad petanque negara tahun ini merupakan skuad terbaik yang pernah dimiliki sejak kali pertama Malaysia menyertai acara tersebut pada Sukan SEA 2001 di Kuala Lumpur.

"Sememangnya kita tidak meletakkan harapan yang tinggi pada Sukan SEA di Laos tahun ini kerana kita sedar, kita berada pada ranking kelima di Asia Tenggara di belakang Thailand, Kemboja, Vietnam dan tuan rumah, Laos," kata Zulkifli.

"Namun, kita sebenarnya memiliki barisan pemain terbaik tahun ini berbanding pada edisi-edisi Sukan SEA sebelum ini.

"Meskipun kurang mendapat pendedahan di luar negara, namun semua pemain cukup bersemangat untuk menyahut cabaran pasukan lawan.

"Saya percaya, kita mampu memberikan saingan sengit di Laos nanti."

Begitupun, Zulkifli sekadar meletakkan sasaran sekurang-kurangnya dua pingat perak daripada 11 acara yang dipertandingkan di Laos.

Menurutnya, meskipun terdapat lima acara yang mempunyai potensi untuk ke peringkat akhir, namun dia yakin sekurang-kurangnya dua acara dilihat mampu meraih pingat emas.

Pada temasya Sukan SEA 2007 di Korat, Thailand skuad petanque menghadiahkan tiga pingat gangsa melalui Sairful Bahri Musmin, Rabi'ah Abd. Rahman dan Roslina Abd. Rashid.

Ketiga-tiga atlet negara ini akan sekali lagi beraksi mewakili negara di Laos di samping 19 lagi pemain negara yang lain. KOSMO

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