KUALA LUMPUR – MIC’s sports bureau is set to adopt six to seven Tamil schools in Semenyih, Rawang, Hulu Langat, and Taiping to revitalise students’ participation in sports.
Speaking to Scoop, former MIC Youth chief Datuk Sivarraajh Chandran, who rejoined the party as a member last year, said the initiative is part of efforts to restore Indian athletes’ prominence in sports, particularly football and hockey, amid dwindling participation.
Sivarraajh, who is also a senator in the Dewan Negara, revealed that the MIC sports bureau will collaborate with Indian businesses and corporate figures to improve sports facilities at Tamil schools.
“We want to make a change this year, as we have noticed that most Tamil schools’ sports facilities are in poor condition. We believe this is one of the reasons we are seeing fewer Indian children excelling in sports.
“Our boys and girls have long been known for their sporting talent, but the decline in excellence in recent years is concerning. This initiative was conceived last year, but budget constraints have delayed its execution until now.
“To bring this idea to life, we will be working with several Indian businesses and corporate figures.
“We aim to upgrade football fields and badminton courts at the schools we adopt. There are also plans to create a grass hockey turf at one of the schools and organise in-house hockey competitions,” Sivarraajh said when contacted.
He added that the party’s sports bureau is also interested in working with the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) to develop programmes that identify and nurture more Indian sporting talent.
“Many of us in the party have experience in sports, and we are ready to lend our expertise to KBS in developing a talent scouting system and grassroots development programme to increase the number of Indian athletes in sports,” he said.
Among the top sports programmes and tournaments successfully organised by the MIC Sports Bureau is the Bardhan Cup, which has completed 84 editions to date.
Notable players who emerged from the Bardhan Cup and made a name for themselves at both state and national levels include D. Surendran, S. Kunanlan, K. Sanbagamaran, K. Gurusamy, Thanabalan Nadarajah, and the late Datuk R. Arumugam. – February 16, 2025