KUALA LUMPUR – Several athletes were removed from the ongoing Road to Gold (RTG) programme due to their poor performances and inability to meet the criteria set by the RTG committee.
The decisions were made during the third RTG committee meeting in Bukit Jalil today, chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Hannah confirmed that independent doubles pairs Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai have been removed from the programme as they failed to rank within the top 16 of the Olympic qualification standings.
“Kian Meng-Pei Jing have dropped to No. 23 in the qualifying rankings since the Olympic qualifying window began in May.
“It is the same with Soon Huat-Shevon who have dropped to No. 17.
“The RTG will consider their re-inclusion if they are able to improve themselves and achieve a top-eight rank (world rankings) or top-16 in the Race to Paris (Olympic qualifying rankings),” said Hannah in a press conference at the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil today.
The minister also said that the men’s hockey squad have also been removed from the programme after failing to win a gold medal at the recent Asian Games, which is a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, in addition to falling to 12th in the world rankings.
“The hockey team has been removed from the programme due to their poor performances in the Asian Games.
“However, this list is not finalised. We will be monitoring all the athletes’ performance every three months, and there is a high possibility for us to re-include them in the programme if they happen to secure qualification at the Olympic qualifiers in Muscat or Valencia in January next year,” Hannah added.
Meanwhile, RTG coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam said that national weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan will be the latest athlete selected to be a part of the programme as he is currently ranked 10th in Olympic qualification.
“After a thorough discussion with our committee, we have included Aniq as he has worked hard to increase his Olympic rankings over the years.
“He’s only 21 years old, and we believe that he will be a great prospect for us to win a medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics,” said Stuart.
Stuart added that diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises and shooter Johnathan Wong, who have both secured qualification for Paris, have not been included in RTG but will receive additional support via the Olympic Incentive Scheme.
The inclusion of Aniq means the RTG programme now consist of 15 athletes, namely track cyclists Datuk Muhammad Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom; divers Datuk Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri; and badminton players Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong, Aaron Chia & Soh Wooi Yik, Ong Yew Sin & Teo Ee Yi, Pearly Tan & Thinaah Muralitharan, and Chen Tang Jie & Toh Ee Wei.
RTG is an elite athlete preparation programme intended to provide cream-of-the-crop athletes with the additional support they need to challenge for gold at the next two Olympics – in Paris next year and the 2028 Los Angeles Games – and other major international competitions.
In addition to sports science support, competition exposure and coaching, athletes under RTG also receive an additional allowance of RM3,000 a month. – October 31, 2023