His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council with Jaspar Yu Woon Chai
ABOVE & BELOW: His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council during his visit to the Sepak Takraw team training sessions
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah in a photo with the Athletics team (photo above) and Jaspar Yu Woon Chai (photo below) during his visit to different training sessions for athletes heading to the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur. – PHOTOS JAMES KON
OVERSEEING the progress and welfare of athletes heading to the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council visited the Sepak Takraw, Badminton and Athletics training sessions yesterday.
To boost the morale of athletes in every sports event, the visit was a continuation of His Royal Highness’ recent visits to the Football, Netball, Silat and Fencing teams.
Accompanying His Royal Highness were Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul ‘Aleem; Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports; Pengiran Anak Mohd Sofian bin Pengiran Anak Haji Ibrahim, Chef de Mission of Brunei’s contingent to the SEA Games, as well as other officials.
His Royal Highness first met the Sepak Takraw team at the Menglait Sports Complex, where he personally observed the training session and spoke to Japar Wali, Assistant Coach of the team regarding the training and welfare of the athletes.
His Royal Highness then proceeded to meet Jaspar Yu Woon Chai, the sole national badminton athlete representing the country in the biennial tournament.
Jaspar was advised to look after his health, eat proper meals and get enough rest to maintain healthy condition for the competition.
His Royal Highness also stressed the importance of having the right mindset to be ready for the competition.
Jaspar Yu expressed satisfaction for His Royal Highness’ willingness to come down and meet the SEA-Games-bound athletes.
“It’s nice to see His Royal Highness come down personally (to see us). That means he cares about us and cares about our well-being. He wanted to see how we’re preparing and that is extra motivation for me to work harder although resources are limited.”
The sudden drizzle did not stop His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah’s agenda to visit athletics training at the Track and Field Sports Complex, Berakas.
Mohd Shah Johan bin Haji Shari, the Manager of the Brunei Athletic team briefed His Royal Highness on the training and His Royal Highness advised the manager to take care of the athletes’ well-being.
In an interview, Mohd Shah Johan expressed his gratitude for the visit by His Royal Highness that has helped boost the confidence and motivation to perform well in the SEA Games.
“Our primary target is to break our national record and if we can strike medals, it will be a bonus for us. I hope the nation will pray for our success in the SEA Games.”
In this year’s SEA Games, Brunei contingent comprising 105 athletes and 67 officials will take part in 14 sports namely Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Football, Golf, Karate, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Pencak Silat, Sepak Takraw and Wushu.
