KUALA LUMPUR: National Bodybuilding team coach Datuk Syarul Azman Mahen Abdullah is deeply disappointed that the sport has been dropped from next year's Thailand Sea Games.
Bodybuilding was last included in the Sea Games during the 2021 Hanoi edition - held in 2022 due to Covid-19 - when Malaysian athletes won one gold, three silver and four bronze medals.
The sport was dropped from the Phnom Penh Sea Games last year after two of Cambodia's bodybuilders tested positive for steroids.
There was hope within the bodybuilding community that the sport would be reinstated for the Thailand games but it did not materialise.
Syarul admitted it was a heartbreaking blow to the sport.
"We were hoping for bodybuilding to be in the (2025) Sea Games, the Asian Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation had been lobbying hard for its inclusion," said Syarul today.
"It is definitely disappointing to know that the sport has been dropped as we were confident of doing well in Thailand.
"We anticipated that we could have won at least one gold in Thailand based on our recent success at the World Bodybuilding Championships in Maldives last month where we won three gold, three silver and a bronze."
A total of 50 sports have been included in the finalised list of events for the Thailand Sea Games, which is substantially more than the 36 sports contested at the Phnom Penh Games last year.
This includes karate, wushu, tenpin bowling, weightlifting and jiu-jitsu which had originally been left out of the list of sports for the Thailand Sea Games.
Syarul stressed that it is unfair to punish the sport for the behaviour of a handful of athletes involved in doping.
He hopes that the sport will be included in the 2027 Malaysia Sea Games, which is expected to be held at venues across the Klang Valley as well as Sarawak and Penang.
"I think the Sea Games organiser believes that doping is rampant in bodybuilding but I can tell you that the testing for doping is quite stringent," he said.
"Athletes have to give their (urine or blood) samples three weeks before competing in an international competition.
"Taking drugs within the three weeks before the competition (after samples are taken) will not bring any results. The athletes will also be tested during the competition itself.
"Doping is done systematically, it is not just about taking a jab before a competition.
"We can only hope that bodybuilding will be included for the 2027 Malaysia Sea Games. We will work hard to win gold medals for Malaysia then."
Syarul retired from competitive bodybuilding in March and was appointed national team coach in June.
He is a former Sea Games gold medallist and six-time world champion.