KUALA LUMPUR: The Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) has taken the initiative to set up a relief fund to ease the burden of former national squash champion, Kenneth Low Ewe Loong who is reported to be suffering from health and financial problems.
Its president Gerard Monteiro said the fund, which was launched after the story of the 44-year-old athlete’s hardships went viral recently, managed to collect more than RM30,000 thanks to donations from various parties including former national squash players.
“We have a group of 80’s players and me who chipped in after we saw the article about him in the media.
“We have a lot of well-wishers who came in to set a fund for him,” he told reporters at Pusat Skuasy Nasional, Bukit Jalil, here today.
Gerard was met after the ceremony to announce West Coast Expressway (WCE) Holdings Berhad as a sponsor for a year involving a number of tournaments, including the 38th SRAM National Squash Championship which takes place from today to Sunday.
He said SRAM will at the same time open a special account for the purpose of channelling financial assistance to the former athletes.
On Sunday, the media reported that Kenneth, who was once ranked fourth in Asia and 38th in the world, now works as a cleaner and suffers from health problems.
He is believed to have suffered a stroke that is causing problems with coordination and motor skills, cognitive disability and short-term memory impairment, besides not having the money to do tests to determine the level of damage to his brain.
Meanwhile, Gerard said the national championship will be the best platform to unearth potential talent.
However, he added that defending champions of the last edition, Ng Eain Yow and S.Sivasangari would not participate in the tournament as they are preparing for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in China this September while Aifa Azman had to withdraw at the last minute due to a right knee injury.
Among those participating are Ivan Yuen, Mohammad Syafiq Kamal and Muhammad Addeen Idrakie Bahtiar for the men’s category and Rachel Arnold, Aira Azman and Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi for the women’s event. -Bernama
