KUALA LUMPUR – National sailor Khairulnizam Mohd Affendy has become the latest athlete to secure qualification for the Paris Olympics after clinching his berth at the Last Chance Regatta (LCR) in Hyeres, France.
The 30-year-old finished third in the ILCA 7 class, earning his spot for Paris where only the top four contenders would qualify for the Olympics in July.
South Korea’s Ha Jee-min took first place, with Estonia’s Karl-Martin Rammo securing second.
Paris will mark the Selangorian’s fourth Olympic appearance, following his debut in London 2012 and subsequent participation in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Malaysia Sailing Association chief executive officer Mazlan Othman expected Khairulnizam’s qualification, especially with Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif securing her spot after the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
“We are happy. Although we targeted three classes, we missed out on one class.
“Nevertheless, we managed to maintain two athletes qualifying for Paris. We are very glad at the achievement. Two out of three is not bad.
“Khairulnizam is one of our most senior sailors, we want him to improve for the Olympics.
“To do that he needs a foreign coach to come in and help him,” said Mazlan when contacted by Scoop.
Khairulnizam is the 10th Malaysian athlete to officially secure a spot at the Paris Olympics.
The other nine are track cyclist Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri, road cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir, archer Ariana Nur Dania Mohmad Zairi, diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises, sailor Nur Shazrin, shooter Johnathan Wong and weightlifter Aniq Kasdan. – April 26, 2024