Asian Body Building Ch'ship plus SEA , World & Beach Games

seribulan

February 05, 2010 16:22 PM
National Bodybuilders Target Four Major Championships

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- Since bodybuilding isnot included in the list of sports at the Laos SEA Games, the MalaysianBody Building Federation (MBBF) will flex its muscles on fourinternational bodybuilding championships scheduled this year.

The championships are the Asian 44th Body Building Championship inTehran, Iran, scheduled for Aug 2-7; SEA Body Building Championship(SEA BBC) in Singapore (Sept 29-Oct 3); World Body BuildingChampionship in Bangkok, Thailand (Nov 3-8) and the Beach Games inMuscat, Oman (Dec 6-14).

"Selection of athletes to participate in the four championshipswill be made through the states' championships, as well as the 44thNational Body Building Championship to be held in Penang in July," MBBFhonorary secretary Kamaruzaman Kadir told Bernama here Friday.

He said, based on the MBBF calendar, most states would organisetheir local circuit, beginning with Mr Perak on June 6, Mr Kelantan(June 19), Mr Selangor (June 27) and Mr ATM (June 27).

However, Kamaruzaman added, since bodybuilding was not one of thecountry's core sports, the federation incurred financial problems tosend the national bodybuilders to compete at internationalchampionships abroad.

"This year, our focus is actually on the championships in Iran and Thailand.

The federation can only afford to send one or two athletes tocompete in the Asian championship in Tehran, but we will try to sendmore bodybuilders to Bangkok, as it is closer to home and involves muchlower cost," he said.

Currently, he said, there were 15 to 20 potential bodybuilders who could represent the country in the international arena.

"The one shining the most is our five-time Mr Universe, SazaliAbdul Samad. The others still lack exposure and consistency," he noted.

The Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, will be held on Oct3-14, while the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, is scheduled for Nov13-21.

-- BERNAMA