How about naming sports arenas after Pandelela?

Much debate had taken place over the last week whether Sarawak’s diver Pandelela Rinong should be awarded with a Datuk title to recognise her feat for winning a silver medal at Rio Olympics.

 

She and Perak-based diver Cheong Jun Hoong had earned themselves the silver medal in the the women’s 10m platform synchronised.

 

For their feat, they will share the RM300,000 cash incentive as well as a monthly pension of RM3,000 each for life for the silver medal under the National Sports Council Olympics incentive scheme.

 

 While nothing much had been heard on what the Perak government would give to Jun Hoong, there were several suggestions and opinions from Sarawakians and non-governmental organisations for Pandelela to be awarded the Datukship title by the Sarawak government.

 

Deputy Chief Minister James Masing felt that Pandelela should be accorded all kinds of assistance for her to improve herself in diving.

 

He reasoned that it was still premature to accord the Datukship title to her, and he suggested that she should be given assistance she really needed to improve her diving performance through systematic training not only locally but also overseas.

 

Bung Bratak Heritage Association and  Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) thought that Pandelela deserved to be awarded a Datukship for winning silver.

 

There were suggestions that the State Aquatic Centre in Petrajaya be named after Pandelela and she be employed her to take care of the centre.

 

Pandelela became a household name after she won a bronze medal in the London Olympic Games in 2012 the women’s 10m platform, making her the first Malaysian woman to win an Olympic medal.

 

For that she was conferred the Johan Bintang Kenyalang (JBK), the state’s most senior medal, for her achievement in the London Olympics in 2012.

 

However, Pandelela failed to repeat the feat when she was placed 11th among the 18 swimmers in the final of the women’s individual 10m platform event in Rio.

 

At other international swimming championships, Pandelela had won either golds or silvers and bronzes, but it was the medals she won in Rio and London that had made her name more well-known.

 

I would say it is more logical for the State Aquatic Centre be named after Pandelela and let her be the diving trainer, instead of awarding the Datuk title.

 

Getting the Datuk title is a dream for many aspiring athletes, but for the moment, Pandelela does not really deserve the prestigious title.

 

If the aquatic centre is named after her and she be allowed to run it in a professional away, she will be a source of inspiration for the young divers and swimmers, who one day, could earn themselves medals in international championships, including Olympic Games in future.

She would be a role model for other athletes to train harder so to achieve greater heights in the sports they indulge in.

 

Therefore, it is not illogical and unreasonable for the aquatic centre to be named after Pandelela.

There are many sports stadiums or swimming pools around the world names after sports personalities who had excelled in their life time.

 

In Australia, Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court  Arena were named after tennis players.

 

Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located within Melbourne Park, it is the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the aging Kooyong Stadium.

 

In Gwangju, South Korea, a football stadium in named after Guus Hiddink Stadium.

 

The Dutchman took the South Korea football team into the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2002, after beating soccer powerhouses Portugal and Italy.

 

A sports stadium in Trinidad and Tobago was named after sprinter Ato Boldon in 2002.

 

He had won many medals for his country in Olympics Games and other international championships.

Former footballer Dwight Yorke, who played for Manchester United, had also a stadium named after him in Trinidad and Tobago.

 

San Siro, the principal stadium in his native city of Milan, is now officially called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in the player’s honour.

 

In 2011, he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

 

There are hundreds of sports stadiums and arenas around the globe named after retired sports personalities, but in Sarawak, there is none.

 

It is time Sarawak names sports venues after past or current sports personalities to recognise their contributions to the state and country.

 

What about naming a boxing stadium after Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Sipok Biki or a sports arena named after the legendary muscleman Solomon Esmanto? – Sarawakvoice.com

Kredit : SarawakVoice.com