Beijing, 16th May 2017 - In conjunction with the Belt & Road Summit Forum which was held from 14th – 15th May in Beijing with the attendance of 28 world leaders, Wisdom Sports (M) Sdn. Bhd. (Wisdom), together with Chinese Athletic Association (CAA) and Wisdom Sports Group launched the Belt & Road Malaysia Marathon (MM) in China World Hotel, Beijing under The Belt and Road Marathon Series (BRMS) today.
The MM was launched by YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz in the presence of Mr. Du Zhaocai, the Vice President of Chinese Athletic Association (CAA), HJ. Anwar Bin Mohd Zain, the head of Culture, Arts, Tourism & Sports Department of DBKL, Mdm. Ren Wen, the Chairlady and CEO of Wisdom Sports Group and Tan Sri Dato’ Tee Tiam Lee, the Deputy Chairman of Salcon Berhad.
The marathon, to be held on 1 Oct 2017 at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, is organised by Wisdom and co-organized by Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) with the support the Chinese Athletic Association (CAA). The marathon is targeting 20,000 runners from Malaysia and overseas in various categories i.e. 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km.
This is a Belt and Road initiative of Chinese Athletic Association (CAA), a governing body of athletic sports in China, to promote people to people bond and cultural exchanges between China and over 60 countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe. The Belt & Road initiative is an important vision and initiative of President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. Wisdom aims to develop the sports tourism business in Malaysia and the ASEAN region, leveraging on the mass market of China.
“I believe MM will help to foster cooperation between China and Malaysia and also to propel the development of sports tourism in Malaysia. MM is expected to generate RM40 million worth of business opportunities and more than 10,000 tourist’s arrivals to Malaysia,” says YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz during the launching. “We are ready to welcome tourists around the world to visit Malaysia and enjoy our local food and experience our unique multinational culture,” he added.
“We are proud to be the event organiser for this inaugural international marathon series in Malaysia,” said Dato’ Ngiam Foon, CEO of Wisdom. “With our strong working team from Wisdom Sport Group, which is the largest sport events management company in China, we have confidence that the event will be held successfully in Malaysia.”
The marathon route will start from Dataran Merdeka, passing by Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Malaysia Central Bank, National Mosque of Malaysia, KL Railway Station, KL Butterfly Park, Lake Garden, National Monument, KL Bird Park, Petronas Twin Towers and Kuala Lumpur Tower among other landmarks. Other race information and details of MM will be announced by end of May.
“The BRMS serves as a great platform to connect people around the world through sports tourism, which playing a crucial role in promoting the strategy of Belt & Road initiative and also further strengthening the economic relationship between China and Malaysia” said Mr. Du Zhaocai, the Vice President of CAA.”