KUALA LUMPUR: Two former Olympians support the idea of establishing a sports university in the country, saying it can improve the perception towards sports and ensure better career opportunities for athletes.
Former Olympic athlete Nazmizan Mohamad said such a university would enable athletes to focus on their sporting and academic pursuits simultaneously.
"Some universities do give athletes the flexibility to train and participate in various competitions, but these universities still impose certain conditions, like requiring athletes to complete their studies within a specified period.
"This may force some athletes to sacrifice training time or skip competitions to focus on their studies," he told Bernama today.
Echoing his sentiments, former Olympian Wendy Ng said a sports university is a potential game-changer for the sports industry in Malaysia.
"I think the proposal to establish a sports university is good because, as a former student, I realised it was not easy to be both an athlete and a student at the same time.
"I believe a sports university will provide more flexibility for athletes to focus on academics without risking their careers as athletes. Therefore, we can produce athletes who excel not only academically but also in sports," said Wendy, who was a national diver for 17 years.
Meanwhile, former taekwondo exponent Nurul Hidayah Abdul Karim said a sports university could become a 'hub' for gathering experts, athletes and support teams in sports.
"For example, in South Korea, there is Korea National Sport University, which offers athletes to study courses relevant to their sports. So, athletes will learn about the sports they are involved in from the basics to important aspects such as sports science, psychology and physiology.
"Thus, the athletes produced will be of higher quality and, at the same time, they will have academic qualifications that they can use in the future," she said.
Malaysian Athletics Federation president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim has suggested that the government establish a sports university to ensure that young athletes, especially those graduating from sports schools, continue to be involved in sports, thereby ensuring that Malaysia does not run out of talent.