Project To Go For Gold
By James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - It's not mission impossible but yet Brunei Darussalam's athletes still find it difficult to obtain more gold medals in the many sporting international competitions for the past years.

The trend of Brunei Darussalam's sporting achievement is currently looking bright and it's on the rise steadily but slowly.

Last year, Brunei Darussalam managed to grab I 1 gold, 10 silver and 25 bronze medals in the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia as compared to one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in 2001.

In the 2005 SEA Games in Manila, Brunei Darussalam took home one gold and four silver medals which was a better result compared to 2003 where Brunei grabbed one gold, one silver and eight bronze medals.

In the 4th Women Islamic Gaines 2006 in Iran, Brunei Darussalam with a small contingent of seven athletes brought home one gold, four silver and three bronze medals through golf, athletics and taekwando.

However, the recent disappointing results in the Sukma Games 2006 where Brunei Darussalam only managed to win three silver and four bronze medals have again stirred up public criticism.

The Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports which is responsible for national sport achievement among others had already put in place a strategic plan to take Brunei's sport into top flight and excellence since year 2005.

Within the strategic plan, a pioneer project named .`Project Gold' was initiated by the Youth and Sports Department to select and nurture local athletes to better prepare to go for gold in future international sporting events.

Under the Project Gold, five sports namely karate-do, taekwondo, tenpin bowling, athletics and lawn bowling have been identified as core sports that have the highest rate of gaining gold medals based on previous achievements in regional and international competitions.

The five core sports were picked for its past achievements while other sporting associations still have a chance to catch up in the project if they could produce concrete results in international competitions.

The Youth and Sports Department is determined to assist other sporting associations in their quest for excellence and in that sense, the department will soon come up with a guideline to all local sport associations on playing a more proactive role in promoting each respective sports

Fourteen top athletes from the five core sports are currently in intensive training (even in the month of Ramadhan) taking sports science as a main drive to prepare for the next SEA Games, which is scheduled to take place in Thailand next year.

When athletes perform well in local as well as international arena, they will be rewarded in the scheme

Beside the programmes, the cooperation from all parties (parents of athletes as well as private and public sector) is needed to support the development of local athletes.

However obstacles still remain for local athletes to strive for excellence in sports, especially when sports have yet to become a fulltime profession in the country.

While many highly potential athletes could not take part in national elimination rounds due to other commitments, thus missing out on joining the national sports scheme.

With the project now taking off, the heartbreak for the people of Brunei Darussalam sports fans may finally come to an end as early as the next SEA Games, as athletes representing Brunei Darussalam will be going all out to grab gold for the country. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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