Post-Suksar selection to decide Sarawak’s Sukma pétanque team

SIMANGGANG (Feb 5): About 40 pétanque players competing in Sukan Sarawak (Suksar) IV 2026 will be called up for a post-Games selection process as the Sarawak Boules Sports Association moves to finalise its squad for the Malaysia Games (Sukma) XXII in Selangor this August.

Its president Dato Wan Abdillah Edruce Wan Abdul Rahman said the shortlisted players would be assessed about a week after Suksar ends, with only seven eventually earning places in the state team.

“The final selection will be challenging because Sarawak has a large pool of talented players. From the 40 players called up, we will draw up a long list of 20, comprising 10 men and 10 women, before finalising the squad,” he told The Borneo Post.

He said a total of 54 players from four zones are competing in the pétanque event at this year’s Suksar, with each zone fielding 14 players consisting of seven boys and seven girls.

Each contingent is supported by three officials, comprising one manager and two coaches, bringing the total number of officials involved in the event to 12.

Wan Abdillah said the selected players would undergo intensive training about six months ahead of Sukma to ensure they are fully prepared for the national meet.

“We have already begun preparations by assigning a state coach ahead of Suksar, starting from Feb 3. The coach will be offered two-year contracts to ensure continuity in training and development,” he said.

The petanque event at Suksar IV 2026 is being held from Feb 5 to 8 at the Arena Pétanque, Sri Aman Sports Complex.

Athletes are representing four zones, namely the Southern Zone (Kuching, Samarahan and Serian), Western Zone (Sarikei, Betong and Sri Aman), Central Zone (Sibu, Mukah and Kapit) and Northern Zone (Miri, Bintulu and Limbang).

Suksar IV 2026, jointly hosted by Sri Aman, Betong and Lubok Antu, features 11 sports and involves more than 700 athletes under the age of 21, serving as a key platform for identifying talents for national-level competitions.

During the previous Sukma hosted in Sarawak, the state’s pétanque team surpassed expectations by collecting five gold and three silver medals, marking one of the strongest performances by any contingent in the sport.