KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s kabaddi team lived up to its promise by delivering a gold medal at the ongoing SEA Games in Thailand, bolstering its case for inclusion in the next edition of the Games, which Kuala Lumpur will host in 2027.
Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM) secretary-general ASP Arul Prakash Balakrishnan said the association had pledged to the National Sports Council (NSC) that it would deliver at least one gold medal.
The national squad will return home from Bangkok later today with one gold, one silver and four bronze medals, marking kabaddi’s debut at the regional Games.
“I spoke to the NSC and requested that kabaddi be considered for inclusion in the 2027 SEA Games, since they will be held in Kuala Lumpur,” said Arul.
“The director-general, Jefri Ngadirin, said the sports programme has yet to be finalised, but delivering a gold medal would certainly help our case.
“We won medals in all six categories – men’s and women’s Standard, Super Five and Three Star – which shows we are on the right track.”
The men’s Three Star team secured gold after defeating Thailand 28–16 (main image), while the women’s Three Star team narrowly lost the final 24–23 to Indonesia.
Arul said including kabaddi in the 2027 SEA Games would be crucial for the sport’s development and its ability to attract sponsors.
“At the moment, we receive very little financial support, but we are grateful for whatever assistance we get. To take the sport to a higher level, we need more development programmes,” he said.
“We spent more than RM1 million over the past 10 months to prepare our athletes. Thailand and Indonesia, meanwhile, have been preparing for the SEA Games for several years.
“As kabaddi is already established in the Asian Games, it makes sense for it to be part of the SEA Games. We must start planning from now.”
Arul also welcomed the inclusion of kabaddi in next year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma), which will be held in Selangor.
“We had to fight for its inclusion, and I would like to thank the Selangor organising committee for including kabaddi in the 2026 Sukma,” he said.
“Hopefully, kabaddi will become a permanent sport in Sukma moving forward.”