KUALA LUMPUR: National sepak takraw squad tekong Syahir Rosdi was close to speechless after learning that the incentive for team event gold medallists at the Asian Games level had been increased from RM15,000 to RM40,000 for each player under the National Sports Incentive Scheme on Wednesday.
This was announced by Youth and Sports Minister Dr Taufiq Johari after meeting with the sepak takraw squad in Putrajaya.
“We received very, very positive news today. I was honestly left speechless,” said Syahir.
“We as players are deeply grateful to the minister for giving this issue his full attention. This increase isn’t just for sepak takraw, but for all team sports.”
Syahir was part of the squad that ended Malaysia’s 36-year wait for a sepak takraw team event gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games last month.
The 30-year-old, however, took to social media recently to highlight the huge disparity in incentives received by team event and individual event medallists under Shakam.
By comparison, individual event medallists receive RM80,000 for gold, RM40,000 for silver and RM20,000 for bronze. This remains unchanged.
Syahir said his post was meant to clear up any misconception with the public, many of whom thought they received RM80,000 each.
“Going into the Games, we knew that the incentive for gold was only RM15,000 but we still fought with everything we had to secure the win,” said Syahir.
“I just wanted the public to know the actual figure we received and hoped that the relevant authorities would look into reviewing the rates.”
The increased incentive is timely for Syahir and his wife, Ain Athalia, who is currently eight months pregnant with their first child.
“It is a blessing for us as we are expecting our baby very soon,” he added.
Malaysia Sepak Takraw Federation president Datuk Sumali Reduan praised the decision to revise the team event incentive rates for the first time in 24 years.
“This is a major increase, more than 100 per cent compared to the previous rates,” Sumali said.
“This was never just about sepak takraw, but about standing up for all team events.”
The revised Shakam structure also sees team event silver payouts jump from RM8,000 to RM20,000 each, while bronze rewards increase from RM4,000 to RM10,000. It also applies to competitions held earlier this year.