KUALA LUMPUR – Lucrative rewards await Malaysia’s badminton stars – men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, along with men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia – following their success in securing bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, which concluded on August 11.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh announced the rewards during a car handover ceremony hosted by Chery Malaysia in Puchong today.
Each athlete received a Chery Tiggo 7 Pro sports utility vehicle (SUV) valued at RM123,800.
In addition to the SUVs, Zii Jia, who competed as a professional athlete, will receive RM100,000 from the National Sports Council (NSC) under the National Sports Incentives Scheme (Shakam).
The 27-year-old will also benefit from a monthly pension of RM2,000 starting next month, courtesy of the Olympic Permanent Incentive Scheme.
Furthermore, NSC will provide an additional RM100,000 grant to support his preparations for upcoming tournaments, adding to the RM50,000 previously granted for his Paris Olympics training.
For Aaron and Wooi Yik, the NSC has agreed to award each of them RM100,000 – an upgrade from previous instances where they had to share the Shakam reward.
Additionally, both players already receive a monthly pension of RM2,000 from their bronze medal win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This recognition follows their impressive repeat performance, replicating their bronze medal achievement from Tokyo 2020.
“Both of them fought equally hard. For now, we treat this on a case by case basis (giving RM100,000 each). This is the second time they’ve brought home a medal (Olympic Games) for the country so we believe it’s right to give them RM100,000 each.
“We believe that sports is a unifying tool for Malaysia. We encourage the private sector to play its role in rewarding athletes when they succeed in bringing back medals.
“What makes Chery’s gesture special is that they are celebrating all medal winners,” said Hannah.
In Paris, Aaron and Wooi Yik delivered a remarkable performance – defeating Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skarrup Rasmussen in the bronze medal match.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia thwarted India’s Lakhsya Sen to claim his bronze medal. – August 22, 2024