State youth, sports and entrepreneurship committee chairman Najwan Halimi said besides the mainstream sports like athletics, badminton, football, hockey, aquatics and archery; periphery sports such as chess, kabaddi, silambam and e-sport (electronic games), which were contested at the Sarawak Sukma recently, will also be considered to be held in the 22nd edition of the biennial sports event.

“We will ensure that the 27 core and high performance sports will be contested.

“In terms of additional sports, we will discuss with the National Sports Council and National Sports Associations to see the need and suitability for competition,” he said.

Speaking after a royal luncheon hosted by the Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah, for the Selangor contingent’s officials and gold medal winners of the 21st Sarawak Sukma Games at Istana Alam Shah here today, Najwan said the Selangor contingent is expected to retain 50-60% of the 700 athletes who competed in the games.

This is to bolster the state’s challenge during the next edition as the state is expected to start thorough preparations to win the overall title.

He said athletes who won silver and bronze medals in Sarawak will continue to be groomed as best as possible to boost their gold medal chances.

On the winning incentives for athletes who won a medal at the games, Najwan said the rewards are expected to be presented during the Selangor Sports Awards ceremony, expected to be held no later than November.

For Sarawak Sukma, Selangor promised a reward of RM10,000 to individual gold medal winners, RM5,000 per person for team events of under five people, and RM3,000 per athlete for team events of more than five.

The amounts were a threefold increase compared to the Sukma rewards in 2022.

Earlier, the Raja Muda of Selangor, attended the ceremony held to celebrate 101 athletes who won gold medals in individual and team events at the Sarawak Sukma last month.

At the games, Selangor, aiming for the top three positions, ended the tournament in third place with a medal tally of 56 gold, 64 silver and 61 bronze medals.

Sukma 2024 saw the participation of more than 12,000 officials and athletes who competed to win 488 gold medals in 37 types of sports.