Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) is targeting more national records to be broken at the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Games (SUKIPT) following the increase in participation of high-level athletes from higher education institutions (IPT) in the games.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sports Section deputy secretary of KPT Strategic Planning Division Dr. Hanafiah Ayub stated that SUKIPT serves as both a competition arena and an important platform for IPT athletes to showcase their potential in preparation for larger tournaments such as the Asian Games. "We are targeting more national records to be broken. If we look at athletics, for example, these athletes will be going to the Asian Games and so on, so SUKIPT is a medium and platform for them to show their best potential," he noted after the SUKIPT 2026 Launching Ceremony at Universiti Malaya (UM).
Dr. Hanafiah commented on the readiness of the competition venue, mentioning that almost 80 percent of the facilities for SUKIPT 2026 will involve facilities on the UM campus, aligning with the ministry's concept of prioritizing the use of IPT facilities. He highlighted that UM has upgraded several facilities to meet the needs of the games, with comprehensive support from the university management. For events lacking facilities at UM, such as hockey, bowling, and golf, nearby venues like Lembah Pantai for hockey and UKM for golf will be utilized.
Deputy Secretary-General (Management and Development) of KPT, Datuk Dr. Mohd Nor Azman Hassan, emphasized that SUKIPT 2026 will be a crucial platform in preparation for the ASEAN University Games (AUG) 2026, scheduled for December in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, Serdang, and Bangi. The seventh edition of SUKIPT is expected to be an optimal field to produce more high-performance athletes in the country, with international-class IPT athletes participating in the games at Universiti Malaya from August 28 to September 6.
SUKIPT 2026 will feature 30 sports events with 251 gold medals on offer, involving the participation of 65 contingents, over 6,000 athletes, 2,500 officials, and more than 600 volunteers across 23 competition venues. "It is my hope that this tournament can present a competitive platform and provide space for more of our IPT students to be active in the sports arena," he stated at the ceremony.
Dr. Mohd Nor Azman added that SUKIPT 2026 will continue to be a field for IPT athletes to maintain their best performance before competing in international tournaments like the ASEAN University Games, Asian University Games, World University Games, SEA Games, Asian Games, and the Olympic Games. He also mentioned that KPT has maintained several SUKIPT excellence incentives, including rewards of RM3,000 for SUKIPT sportsmen and sportswomen, RM7,000 for the best male and female teams, and RM20,000 for athletes who break national records.
SUKIPT 2026 is set to take place at UM from August 28 to September 6, with participation from more than 6,000 athletes representing 65 contingents.