Kumar, speaking to Stabroek Sport yesterday, said that in conjunction with the National Sport Policy’s completion, “a lot of sports programmes will be implemented next year.
“Next year we will have a lot of programmes… the National Sports Policy is finished and documenting now,” said Kumar.
The sports policy, which is based on a Canadian model, is expected to be a revolutionary way in the administration of sport and entails practical things that the sports ministry would like to implement.
Recapping on the 2010 sporting year, Kumar declared that “2010 was an excellent year.
“It was an excellent year… table tennis was a highlight because we brought table tennis back with various table tennis tournaments throughout the year.”
He spoke of the tournaments that were successfully held such as the schools competition and the recently concluded national championships.
“I think table tennis is set for bigger things,” he opined.
Kumar also spoke of the national schools basketball festival which was held between June and July.
He acknowledged the contributions of the Street Solutions Organisation that organized that competition, in collaboration with the National Sports Commission and the Ministry of Education. The Sports Director also pointed to the revival of volleyball, which according to him, was the fruits of a co-ordinated effort among the National Sports Commission, the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports and various volleyball authorities. He mentioned the large number of cycling events held during the year and the successes of some cyclists at international meets.
Kumar lauded national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed stating: “Without Hassan, there would be no cycling in the country.”
He also spoke of the successful staging of chess, karate, powerlifting, netball, athletics, lawn tennis and boxing tournaments throughout the year.
However, Kumar said the absconding of three boxers of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) following the Commonwealth Games in India late this year was a major setback.
“Other than that, I think we had a very good year,” said Kumar.
