KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian contingent for the Paris Olympic Games has been allocated 24 accreditation cards for its 26 athletes, creating a challenging situation for the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) in determining how to distribute them.
Various national sports associations have been requesting additional personnel ahead of the Olympics, which are set to begin on July 26.
Among these requests is an appeal from professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia, who wants to bring his personal physiotherapist and sparring partner.
The national badminton team, comprising eight athletes, has been allocated five accreditation cards.
These cards are designated for Rexy Mainaky (national coaching director), Tan Bin Shen (men’s doubles coach), Hoon Thien How (women’s doubles coach), Nova Widianto (mixed doubles coach), and Zii Jia’s coach, Wong Tat Meng.
OCM secretary-general Datuk Nazifuddin Najib stated that they are working to accommodate requests from other sports as well.
A significant consideration is the transferability of these accreditation cards among individuals.
“We have received a request from Team LZJ for an additional two accreditation cards and are currently in discussions. No decision has been made yet,” Nazifuddin told Scoop.
“Although we have 24 cards, we can do swapping and will see if there is space to accommodate Zii Jia’s team’s request, but it depends on the competition schedule as well.”
Zii Jia has the option to bring his personal physiotherapist and sparring partner without needing accreditation cards, though they would have to stay outside the athletes’ village, with accommodation costs covered by Zii Jia himself.
In addition to badminton, other sports such as road cycling and archery have also requested additional accreditation cards.
As such, Nazifuddin said they require time to evaluate these requests based on the situation and the necessity for additional personnel to accompany athletes to Paris.
“Currently, all sports have requests for additional accreditations, but we are assessing the feasibility of bringing them onsite,” Nazifuddin added.
“We will evaluate each request individually. Our priority is athletes and coaches, and then we will consider requests for sports officials who are seen to have an impact on the athletes,” he added. – July 5, 2024