2002 Sukma Games
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| Host city | Sabah | ||
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| Motto | Gemilang Di Alaf Baru (Glory in the new millennium) |
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| Teams participating | 20 | ||
| Athletes participating | 5324 | ||
| Events | 347 | ||
| Sports | 27 | ||
| Opening ceremony | 7 September 2002 | ||
| Closing ceremony | 14 September 2002 | ||
| Main venue | Likas Stadium | ||
| Website | 2002 Sukma Games | ||
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The 2002 Sukma Games, officially known as the 9th Sukma Games, was a Malaysian multi-sport event held in Sabah from 7 to 14 September 2002. Around 5324 athletes from 13 states, 2 federal territories and 5 invitational teams participated at the games which featured 347 events in 27 sports.
This was Sabah's first time to host the Sukma Games. Sabah is the eighth state to host the Sukma Games after Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Johor, Perak, Pahang, Selangor and Penang.
The final medal tally was led by Selangor, followed by Perak and Sarawak. Several national and games records were broken during the games. Perakian gymnast Ng Shu Mun, Kuala Lumpurian athlete Ngew Sin Mei and Negeri Sembilan athlete Petra Nabila Mustafa were announced as Best Sportsman, Best Sportswoman and Most Promising Sportswoman of the games respectively. With little or no controversies at all, the games were a successful ones hosted by Sabah yet with the rising standard of competition amongst the Malaysian states.
The 9th Sukma Games Organising Committee was formed to oversee the staging of the event.
The 2002 Sukma Games used a mix of new and existing venues. Most venues were existing public-sporting facilities, while others were newly constructed venues. Some retrofitting work were done in venues which are more than a decade old. They were reverted to public use after the games.
At the centrepiece of the activities was the upgraded Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex. Incorporating the 35,000-seat Likas Stadium, it hosts most of the events. A games village was not built, instead athletes and officials were housed in colleges, universities and hostels in downtown Kota Kinabalu. Besides being physically near to the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex, it was hoped that it will add vibe to the city and reduce post-games costs in converting a dedicated games village to other uses.
The 9th Sukma Games had 19 venues for the games.
The logo of the 2002 Sukma Games is an athlete in action. The circle represents the national integration through sports, the blue line that resembles the Mount Kinabalu represents the courage of an athlete overcoming all challenges, the yellow circle that resembles the sun represents hope, while the red S represents the fighting spirit of the athlete, the Sukma Games and Sabah itself. The colours on the logo represents the colours on the national flag of Malaysia.
The Mascot of the 2002 Sukma Games is a Proboscis monkey named Bayau. The Proboscis monkey is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey that is endemic to the south-east Asian island of Borneo. In Sabah, it can be found in Sukau(Sg. Menanggul, Kinabatangan), Sg. Segama(Lahad Datu), Klias(Beaufort) and other places in small population. Apart from having a large body size, it can swing fast from tree to tree and swimming. The monkey is said to represent the agility, speed, courage, bravery and the spirit of the athletes as mentioned in the Olympic motto: Faster, Higher and Stronger.
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