The 2018 Sukma Games, officially known as the 19th Sukma Games was a multi-sport event held in Perak from 11 to 22 September 2018. This was Perak's second time to host the Sukma Games, having done so earlier in 1994.
The Games were held from 11 to 22 September 2018, although several events had commenced from 8 September 2018. Around 7464 athletes from 13 states, Federal Territory and Brunei participated in the Games, which featured 427 events in 29 sports. The Games were opened by Nazrin Shah, the Sultan of Perak at the Perak Stadium.
The final medal tally was led by Terengganu, followed by host Federal Territory and Selangor. 5 national and 27 games records were broken during the games. Sabahan archer Eugenius Lo Foh Soon and Terengganuan sprinter Azreen Nabila Alias were announced as best sportsman and best sportswoman of the games respectively.
Host city On 15 May 2015, during the Sukma executive committee meeting chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, the committee jointly awarded Perak and Johor the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2020 Sukma Games respectively.
Development and Preparation
Venues
On 29 May 2016, the federal government allocated RM152 million to the Perak state government for organising the Games. This included RM 20 million that was spent on renovation and repair works for some old sporting facilities such as Perak Stadium, Velodrome Rakyat and Stadium Indera Mulia, and the rebuilding of Ipoh City Council Swimming Complex. The government also states that all 12 districts of Perak will host at least one sporting event.
District Competition Venue SportsKintaIpoh City Council (MBI) Sports ComplexPerak StadiumAthletics, Opening and closing ceremoniesTuanku Zara Aquatic CentreAquaticsAmanjaya Badminton ArenaBadmintonIndera Mulia StadiumGymnasticsAzlan Shah StadiumHockeySquash StadiumSquashLawn bowls complexLawn bowlsRugby mini stadiumRugby sevensVelodrome RakyatCycling (Track)OthersKolej Sains Kesihatan BersekutuSepak takrawAmpang superbowlBowlingAmanjaya shooting complex, CheporShootingPoi Lam High SchoolBasketballPadang IpohCricketRenjer Kem Syed Putra FieldCricketRoyal Perak Golf ClubGolfLarut, Matang and SelamaTaiping Bike ParkCycling (Mountain bike)Kamunting Lake GardenCycling (BMX)Square Arena, Batu KurauCycling (Road)Taiping Lake GardenCycling (Criterium)Advance Technology Training Centre TaipingNetballManjungManjung Municipal Council StadiumFootballNaval Base StadiumFootballRoyal Navy BaseSailingManjung Indoor Sports ArenaFutsalKuala KangsarPerak Jubilee HallPencak silatPetanque CourtPetanqueKamparPerak Matriculation CollegeWushuSekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi GopengWushuKerianSMJK Kerian JudoKerian District Council FieldFootballMuallimSultan Idris Education UniversityHandball, FootballSultan Azlan Shah PolytechnicKarateBatang PadangMerdeka Hall Tapah District CouncilWeightliftingBagan DatukDato Loppe Hashim HallBoxingHilir PerakSan Min High School, Teluk IntanTaekwondoHulu PerakGerik District Council Multi-purpose HallMuayPerak TengahUniversiti Teknologi PetronasArchery
Volunteers The organisers estimated that around 3000 volunteers are needed to successfully host the games.
Sponsors
Platinum Tenaga Nasional Telekom Malaysia Al-Ikhsan Sports Gold Tan Chong Motor
Silver Sanyu Empayar Indera Molten Corporation Ashaway Rizzs Petronas
Silver (Continue) KL Teh land Development Milo 100 Plus
Bronze Boost Domino's Pizza Palace Vacation Club Oratis Rx G.B.Kuari 7-Eleven
Baton relay A relay of baton (which resembles a torch) was held statewide, began and ended at the host city on 2 and 11 September respectively.Daerah Kinta Pembuka Tirai Larian Obor SUKMA Perak XIX : 02 September 2018 (Kinta District is the opener for the Sukma Perak XIX Torch relay)
Marketing
Motto
The official motto of the games is "Wow! Kita Hebat!" (Wow! We are great!). Wow is the acronym for World of Wonders, a recognition given by Lonely Planet to Perak during the Visit Perak 2017 tourism campaign.
Logo
The official logo of the 2018 Sukma Games is an image that combines the elements of human and water wave. The human element symbolises the fighting spirit of the athletes at the highest level to achieve success and their positivity, while the water wave element represents the Perak River as the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia that is the source of the basic needs for all Perak citizens. It was launched on 21 January 2018 at the Bulatan Amanjaya in Ipoh alongside the motto, mascot and the theme song.
Mascot
The official mascot of the 2018 Sukma Games is a Seladang or a Malayan Gaur named "Chor". In Perak, Chor is a name given to anyone in the local community who is the eldest in the family in the Perak Malay dialect. The mascot is designed to wear white sports attire, with its cheeks in yellow, both are which colours of the Perak state flag. It was chosen to portray physical and mental strength and burning spirit of overcoming challenges in sports.
Theme song
The theme song of the 2018 Sukma Games is “Wow! Kita The Greatest!” (Wow! We are the greatest!). It was composed and sung by Renowned composer and award-winning singer Datuk Wah Idris.
The games
Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was held on 11 September 2018 at the Perak Stadium at 8:00 pm.
The proceedings:
Arrival of Sultan of Perak, Nazzrin Shah and dignitaries. National anthem and state anthem of Perak. Prayer recitation. Parade of states. Sarawak as host of last edition of Sukma entered stadium first, followed by other states by alphabetical order in Malay language. Johor as host of next edition of Sukma entered the stadium ahead of guest team from Brunei. As per tradition, Perak as host state entered the stadium last. Countdown projection. Dato Wah Idris and Ikhwan performed the games' theme song, "Wow, Kita the greatest". Introductory performance: Indera Sakti. Speech by sports minister Syed Saddiq, Perak state chief minister Ahmad Azumu. Sultan of Perak Nazzrin Shah declared the games opened. Final leg baton relay followed by Lighting of the cauldron. The cauldron resembles the keris, a Malay dagger which is the symbol of the king's power. Raising of the Sukma Games flag by Royal Malaysian Navy personnel. Ahmad Khusyairi Abdul Razak, national shooter take the Athletes' oath. Cultural performance with 3 segments: Pahlawan Dabus (Dabus warrior), Perak Wow, Perak Gemilang (Glorious Perak), drumline and war cry performance. Intel drone and firework performance.
Closing ceremony The closing ceremony was held on 22 September 2018 at the Perak Stadium at 8:00 pm.
Events: Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah declared the games closed. Eugenius Lo Fah Soon, Sabah archer awarded best sportsman title, Azreen Nabila Alias, Terengganu sprinter awarded best sportswoman title, Terengganu crowned as overall champion. Cauldron extinguished, games hosting rights handed over to Johor, host of the 2020 Sukma Games. Followed by cultural performance of Johor.
Participating states
(495) (464) (288) (376) (411) (440) (483) (host) (587) (280) (416) (553) (543) (542) (532) (34)
Sports On 12 December 2017, sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that weightlifting, sepaktakraw and taekwondo have been dropped from the list of 19 core sports as well as the games' sports list due to decline in performances, doping issues as well as power struggles within the associations, leaves only 16 core sports for the 2018 edition. This decision however had drawn dissatisfaction from several sports council across the country including Sarawak and the Federal Territory. On 8 February 2018 after a discussion with the sports associations involved in the issue, Ahmad Shapawi announced during an organising committee meeting that weightlifting, sepaktakraw and taekwondo were reinstated as the games events but only as elective sports. At the same time, a total of 29 sports (with 36 disciplines) were confirmed as part of the games programme.
Aquatics
3×3 basketball (2) Basketball (2)
BMX racing (2) Mountain bike (4) Road (6) Track (12)
Football (1) Futsal (2)
Artistic (14) Rhythmic (5)
Calendar
Medal table Gold medal tie in Artistic Gymnastics Women's Individual All-around.
2018 Sopma Games
The deaf national games known as the 2018 Sopma Games (20th Sopma Games) was held from 15 to 20 October 2018. The opening ceremony was held on 15 October 2018 at 7 pm, while the closing ceremony was held on 20 October 2018 at 7 pm. 551 athletes from 13 states and the federal territories participated at the games. 42 events were featured in 5 sports competed.Participation
Sopma Venues The following venues were used for the 2018 Sopma Games. District Competition Venue SportsKintaSultan Azlan Shah Ministry of health training instituteOpening and closing ceremonyPerak StadiumAthleticsBadminton AcademyBadmintonAmpang SuperbowlBowlingPadang IpohFootballProsport Futsal ArenaFutsal
Sopma Participating states
Sopma Sports
Sopma Calendar
<div align="center"> OCOpening ceremony●Event competitions1Gold medal eventsCCClosing ceremony
October15Mon16Tue17Wed18Thu19Fri20SatEventsCeremoniesOC CC Athletics711624 Badminton●●●●55 Bowling2222210 Football●●●●●11 Futsal●112Daily medal events29149842Cumulative total21125344242October15Mon16Tue17Wed18Thu19Fri20SatEvents </div align="center">
Sopma Medal table Official result
2018 Para Sukma Games
The disabled national games known as the 2018 Para Sukma Games (19th Para Sukma Games) was held from 23 to 28 November 2018.
Para Venues District Competition Venue SportsKintaIpoh City Council (MBI) Sports ComplexPerak StadiumAthletics Tuanku Zara Aquatic CentreSwimmingAmanjaya Badminton ArenaBadmintonIndera Mulia StadiumOpening and closing ceremonies, Table tennisRugby mini stadiumArcheryLawn bowls complexLawn bowlsOthersState Youth and Sports DepartmentBoccia, ChessState sports councilPowerliftingAmpang superbowlBowling
Para Participating states
Para Sports
Archery (13) Athletics (134) Badminton (11) Boccia (7) Bowling (25)
Chess (22) Lawn bowls (12) Powerlifting (13) Swimming (48) Table tennis (23)
Para Medal table
Concerns and controversies
Before the Games
Promotional Video Plagiarism Debacle A major public embarrassment occurred just weeks before the tournament when the Perak government had to issue an open apology for a promotional teaser video. The 19-second viral clip was discovered to have blatantly plagiarised and copied visual concepts from a well-known Taiwanese production titled "Taipei in Motion 2017" made for the 2017 Summer Universiade. The state's sports committee executive, Howard Lee Chuan How, admitted that improper vetting led to the blunder and clarified it was only a placeholder teaser.
Pre-Games Weightlifting Doping Despite the organising secretariat partnering with the Malaysian Anti-Doping Agency (ADAMAS) to guarantee a clean event, the weightlifting sport was rocked just days before the opening ceremony. Pre-tournament screening of 165 lifters revealed that one weightlifter tested positive for banned substances. The unidentified athlete was immediately banned from competing and faced strict internal disciplinary action.
During the Games
Athletic and Officiating Dramas On-field disputes caused heavy friction, particularly in the athletics track events:
Men's 10,000m Race Walk: The initial winner, R. Premkumaar of Negeri Sembilan, was dramatically disqualified after a post-race protest. A jury of seven officials ruled that Premkumaar had intentionally elbowed Perak's Mior Muhammad Amerul Mohd Sahak in the final 100-meter stretch. The gold medal was subsequently handed over to the Perak athlete.
Women's 5,000m Race Walk: The event was marred when Kelantan's walk racer, Nurul Alyahaziqah Kamarazaman, was controversially disqualified by technical delegates, triggering complaints from her state's contingent.
Media Reports of Subpar Accommodation