KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) — World number one women’s squash player Datuk Nicol David today became the first recipient of the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Special Incentive scheme.
Nicol received RM50,000 from Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob at the National Sports Complex, Dewan Perdana here today.
“This is the best way of rewarding the success of athletes who do not fall under the Olympic sports category, because the Olympics incentive scheme has its own incentives like RM1 million for gold, RM300,000 for silver and RM100,000 for a bronze medal.
“I feel it will not be fair to have a Special Incentive scheme for sports that are not included in the Olympics. If squash was part of the Olympics, Nicol could have been the winner of RM1 million as she is the best in the world,” said Ismail Sabri.
However, Ismail Sabri said the incentive given out to Nicol would be a “one-off” thing.
“The Ministry will propose to the Cabinet Committee for Sports Development, a similar incentive scheme for sports that do not fall under the Olympic sports category.
“We will present a working paper, outlining the quantum for the incentive scheme. We will also ensure the type of world championships to be recognised because there are some world championships that do not deserve recognition,” he said.
Ismail Sabri said the ministry hopes by introducing such an incentive scheme, it would help spur other athletes to excel in their respective sports and follow in the footsteps of Nicol.
Meanwhile, Nicol said the incentive would be a moral booster to start off her 2009 season.
“It is good to have good support from the ministry, the national sports council and the association. It is also a recognition of my achievements last year,” said Nicol.
– BERNAMA
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