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City Guide - Kuala Lumpur - Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport The national sport in Malaysia has traditionally been badminton, although football is increasingly replacing it in terms of player numbers and certainly in television audience figures. Badminton may still make the sport pages of all the newspapers, but live English Premiership football blasts around the city's bars, hotels and even hawker centres with disturbing regularity, and replica English football tops are en vogue. Kuala Lumpur's own eponymous football team play in the Premier One league at the KLFA stadium, 2 Tingkat, Jalan Tenteram (tel: (03) 931 5757), and are currently one of the best teams in the country. KL's recent sporting highlight came with the successful staging of the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Winning the rights to stage the first ever Formula One Grand Prix in South East Asia was another impressive recent achievement of the go-getting Malaysian government. Each October, the Sepang circuit (tel: (03) 206 5000) plays host to the world's top racing drivers. The state-of-the-art circuit also hosts a round of the FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix. Motorsports (tel: (603) 793 8392) offer guided tours around Sepang. More traditional sports like sepak takraw (a kind of volleyball with feet rather than hands) are on the way out, with many youngsters losing interest - Malaysia, the birthplace of sepak takraw, is now second best to its neighbour Thailand. Bowling: Ten-pin bowling is very popular in KL with rinks in some of the shopping malls. At the heart of the Golden Triangle the Federal Hotel, Jalan Bukit Bintang, has ten pin bowling as does Yow Chuan Plaza, Jalan Tun Razak. Golf: Golf-lovers are well catered for in KL with a number of courses dotted around the outskirts of the city. Depending on availability, most courses are happy to take visiting golfers with fees paid per round. The Royal Selangor Golf Club, off Jalan Tun Razak (tel: (03) 984 8433), has a reputation for being a bit stuffy but is close to the city centre. Near the domestic airport is the Saujana Golf and Country Club (tel: (03) 746 1466). If these are busy, other choices include Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Golf Club (tel: (03) 55 19 15 12) and Glenmarie Golf and Country Club, 1 Jalan Glenmarie, off Jalan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Subang (tel: (03) 703 9090). Swimming: Most hotels charging over RM200 a night will have their own swimming pool. Alternatively, there are public swimming pools at Bangsar Sports Complex, 3 Jalan Terasek, National Sports Council Complex, Jalan Duta (tel: (03) 958 1390), and at Chin Woo Stadium, off Jalan Hang Jebat (tel: (03) 232 4602). Tennis: The top hotels will have at least one tennis court. Alternatively, there are tennis courts for hire at Bangsar Sports Complex, 3 Jalan Terasek, Kampung Datuk Keramat, Taman Keramat (tel: (03) 456 4853) and National Sports Council Complex, Jalan Duta (tel: (03) 958 1390). |
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