KUALA LUMPUR – Shooter Johnathan Wong believes that his preparation for the Paris Olympics will have no changes, regardless if he is included in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme or not.
The high-performance programme was introduced by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to provide top-up services to athletes that have the potential to deliver Malaysia’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
To be included in the programme, athletes need to be an Olympic medallist in previous Summer Games or at least in the world’s top-10 in their Olympic sport.
“I am more focused on my task, which is to prepare the best I can for the Olympics.
“Whether I’m included in the RTG programme or not, my journey would still be the same, so it really does not make a difference to me,” he told the media at the National Sports Council today.
Johnathan booked his ticket to Paris in October of last year after finishing fourth in the men’s 10m air pistol individual final at the Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, South Korea.
In Paris, the 2022 SEA Games gold medallist in the 10m air pistol event, has set a high target for himself.
“I will try to work towards getting on the podium (in Paris) because this is my second Olympic Games. I want to qualify for the final and from there we will work out how to tackle the elimination system (in the final).
“I want to make Malaysians proud as we are still hunting for that elusive gold medal.
“I believe whoever represents the country will target for gold – because that is something that Malaysians want and I will try my best to do that,” said the 31-year-old, who finished 28th in the 10m and 37th in the 50m air pistol event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In preparation for Paris, Johnathan spent a month in Denmark earlier this year training and competing.
“I was able to identify my advantages and disadvantages and try to see where we can try and improve on. Next I will take part in two World Cup events in Baku, Azerbaijan and Munich in Germany before the Paris Olympics,” he added. – February 23, 2024