Kuala lumpur: The National Sports Council (NSC), together with the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (YAKEB) and Fraser and Neave Holdings Berhad (FandN), has extended donations to current and former national athletes in the Klang Valley and Penang in conjunction with the Deepavali celebrations. Among the recipients were three former national athletes – former wheelchair racer M. Balle, V. David (para table tennis) and former track and field athlete Saravanan Govindasamy, who now resides in Penang. At the same time, this collaborative programme also extended contributions to current athletes, namely karate exponent Geerijaieswaran Pillai Sivanesan, R. Vikneswaran (boccia) and bodybuilder L. Palavendiran.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Saravanan expressed gratitude for the support, hoping that such visits could help ease burdens during festival celebrations. Balle also conveyed appreciation to NSC and 100PLUS for their assistance, which enabled them to celebrate Deepavali with family members in their ho
metowns. YAKEB chairman Datuk Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed highlighted the foundation’s openness to private company collaborations to assist athletes facing financial challenges, acknowledging their contributions to Malaysia. Muhd Fauzi Ahmad, representing FandN, reiterated the company’s commitment to partnering with NSC and YAKEB in providing support to athletes who have dedicated themselves to the nation.
