THE Olympic Council of Malaysia is considering lifting its suspension of the Malaysia Handball Federation, potentially enabling athletes and officials to participate in this year’s SEA Games in Thailand.
OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria stated that handball deserves a return to mainstream sports without penalising athletes for past federation issues.
“Recently, we met with the federation and are considering allowing them back and lifting the suspension because we understand they went through a difficult process earlier,” he told reporters yesterday.
He emphasised that athletes and officials should not suffer due to previous administrative problems affecting MAHF.
“We don’t want the athletes and officials to suffer because of that,” he added.
The OCM aims to reintegrate handball into national sports programmes and secure participation in upcoming international tournaments.
“This time, we want to bring the sport back into the mainstream and, if possible, send our team to the SEA Games and other upcoming tournaments,” he said.
Previously, OCM secretary-general Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali confirmed Malaysia would compete in all 2025 SEA Games events except handball.
In 2021, then-OCM secretary-general Datuk Nazifuddin Mohd Najib announced MAHF’s removal as an OCM affiliate due to unresolved debts from the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. – Bernama
