Southern Zone aims to dominate five sports at 4th Suksar

KUCHING (Feb 3): The Southern Zone will continue to do all it can to produce quality athletes for Sarawak to ensure the state has a strong pool of talents to compete in future editions of the Malaysia Games (Sukma), including this year’s meet in Selangor, said Dayang Joanita Azizah Abang Morshidi.

The Kuching Division resident and Southern Zone Chef-de-Mission (CDM) for Suksar IV 2026 pledged that the zone is committed to become the main contributor of high-quality athletes to strengthen Sarawak’s position at the national level.

“Suksar is an important platform to develop athletes in a structured, systematic and sustainable manner as it provides young athletes with exposure to high-performance competition.

“It also prepares them for higher-level events such as Sukma,” she remarked during the flag handover ceremony to the Southern Zone contingent at the Kuching Resident’s Office here on Monday.

The Southern Zone, comprising Kuching, Samarahan and Serian, will field 205 athletes (116 men, 89 women) to compete in all 11 sports at the 4th edition of Suksar which will be held in Sri Aman, Betong and Lubok Antu from Feb 5 to 8. The athletes are accompanied by 46 team officials and 29 secretariat members.

“The athletes have gone through strict selection and intensive training programmes. Our main focus is for them to achieve their personal best performances, as this will be their ticket to represent Sarawak at Sukma in Selangor this August,” the Resident added.

The zone is aiming to defend its overall champion title and dominate at least five of the 11 sports to be contested.

She assured that steps have been taken to ensure the athletes would arrive at the competition venues in optimal condition.

“The strong cooperation between team officials and the secretariat is crucial to ensure that our athletes remain focused and are not distracted by logistical matters,” she said.

She expressed confidence that the Southern Zone contingent was ready to meet the challenge and contribute significantly to Sarawak’s long-term sports development.

Suksar IV 2026 is a biennial multi-sport event organised by the Sarawak government to identify and groom young athletes for higher-level competitions, particularly Sukma. Since its revival in 2017, the Southern Zone has emerged as one of the powerhouses and a key talent pipeline for the state squad.