KUALA LUMPUR – The Paris Olympics drew to a close this morning, but Malaysia’s quest for an elusive gold medal continues.
The national contingent, led by Chef de Mission (CDM) Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin and his deputy Datuk Nicol Ann David, concluded their campaign in the City of Love with two bronze medals, both won in badminton.
Former men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik retained the bronze medal they won three years ago, while independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia secured his first Olympic bronze in the men’s singles event.
Although the contingent fell short of their gold medal target, they see many positives to build on for the next edition in Los Angeles 2028.
One key highlight is the progress made by athletes under the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, introduced last year by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, as well as the Fast Track programme, which aims to identify and support potential athletes for the 2028 Games.
Speaking to the local press in Paris, Hamidin, who is also the president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), said: “We must first understand that the Olympic Games is a world-class multi-sport event, so we need to be realistic. We sent 26 athletes, and our target was to win gold.
“However, we must also consider the rankings of our athletes coming into the Games.
“Aside from Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, who was among the top three in his category, the other athletes exceeded their own rankings.
“In badminton, our women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah are ranked outside the top 10, yet they finished in the top four (semi-finals). Zii Jia is ranked sixth, but he won bronze, while our mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei also finished in the top eight.
“Then we have Aniq Kasdan, who finished fourth in weightlifting, and our two cyclists, Shah Firdaus Sahrom, who reached the final, and Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri, who performed admirably in her debut.
“We may not have won more medals, but there is overall improvement at the world level, which bodes well for the contingent as we look ahead to the 2028 LA Games.
“From my personal observation as CDM, the work and preparation for the next Games must begin now.
“Hannah introduced the RTG programme just last year, and we can already see progress. I am confident we will achieve better results in LA,” said Hamidin.
Separately, the director-general of the National Sports Council (MSN), Abdul Rashid Yaakub, and the chief executive officer of the National Sports Institute, Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli, also pledged their commitment to working more closely and diligently with all stakeholders, particularly the national sports associations and the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), in preparing for the next Olympics.
“MSN will receive full reports from the coaches and team managers for each sport before we conduct a thorough analysis and detailed discussions to explore more ways to improve.
“Under the Fast Track programme, which we have already initiated for squash and diving, we aim to identify and bring in more potential athletes who are within the top 20 rankings,” said Rashid.
Meanwhile, Faedzal emphasised the importance of developing an Olympic-level ecosystem, heavily reliant on medical and sports science expertise.
“The R&D (research and development) has already begun with the cycling team, and we can see the results. That is the way forward.
“We need to focus on data and evidence-based analysis while promoting a high-performance sports culture,” added Faedzal. – August 12, 2024