Sports Bureau (ID) President Pun Weng Kun said yesterday that his bureau reduced this year’s major sporting events to just five due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Pun made the remarks during a media briefing after a closed-door regular meeting of the government-appointed Sports Committee, which was chaired by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion.
Pun, who is the vice chairman of the committee, told reporters that his bureau has cut out half of the major sporting events, and only five would possibly be held this year, comprising the Macau International 10K, 40th International Marathon, International Dragon Boat Race, Grand Prix, and World Table Tennis (WTT).
When asked whether this year’s Grand Prix will definitely happen, Pun said that he was “hoping it will happen”, adding that it really depended on the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Pun said that he has been talking to FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) about the situation and the preparation work for this year had already started before last year’s Grand Prix took place. He stressed that he “really hoped” that Macau could host the Grand Prix this year.
Pun said that the federation had shown interested in hosting F3 again in Macau after last year’s hiatus. He added, however, that it all depended on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Pun, local athletes are still preparing to participate in international or national sporting events such as the Paralympics and the Asian Youth Games (AYG).
Meanwhile, Pun also said that construction of the Mong Ha Sports Centre was expected to be finished in June and should be ready for use by the end of the year. He said his bureau hoped that 70 percent of the centre could be used by the public and 30 percent for community associations and local competitions.
Pun also noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bureau had decided to reduce the amount of standard funding for local sports organisations by 8-10 percent.
Pun also pointed out that in the meeting topics such as facility maintenance situations and public-participated competitions were discussed.
Sports Bureau (ID) President Pun Weng Kun briefs reporters after yesterday’s closed-door Sports Committee regular meeting at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion yesterday. Courtesy: TDM
