Thursday January 17, 2013

Gymnastics coach welcomes NSC’s development programme

By ASHREENA PILLAi

PETALING JAYA: Nurul Fatiha Abdul Hamid has welcomed the National Sports Council’s (NSC) move to revamp the women’s artistic gymnastics development programme with open arms.

The national women’s artistic gymnastics head coach said that while revamping the programme would definitely lift the development programme, “the buck shouldn’t stop there”.

“It’s a great idea to revamp the programme and hire a new coach ... but we also need to make sure we hire someone with the right quality who can spot and nurture talents into world class gymnasts,” said the 27-year-old Nurul Fatiha.

“But it shouldn’t just end there. I think the NSC (National Sports Council) or MGF (Malaysian Gymnastics Federation) should also monitor the progress of the coaches and gymnasts from the other states’ development programmes. They should give them a time frame, at least a year, to develop their gymnasts.

“I think if we do that we’ll be able to get new talents for the national squad.”

Although artistic gymnastics has been in decline over the last two years, she believes that pushing for results won’t help the sport and that the new programme should be given time to bear fruit.

“I’m confident we’ll see a new crop of young artistic stars in the near future, but we have to be patient. Gymnastics is not a sport where you can see results in a year. It may take five years ... but if we start now, we’ll be able to build on their strength, technique and skills,” she said.

“At least we know that the country’s women’s artistic gymnastics won’t fade away and that we’ll have a future star in the making. No matter how long it takes, we have to keep trying and we must start now.”

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