TOUGH PATH BUT POSSIBLE
ISAM chief believes athletes have what it takes to qualify for Winter Olympics
FARAH AZHARIE farahazharie@nst.com.my
ICE Skating Association of Malaysia (ISAM) president Fadzil Johan admitted it is daunting though not impossible for Malaysia to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. This follows the winter sport’s successful debut at the recent Sea Games where the athletes in three disciplines (ice hockey, short track speed skating and figure skating) exceeded expectations.
ISAM, who initially targeted three gold medals from all disciplines, were on cloud nine when their athletes won five titles, three of which were contributed by national women’s speed skater Anja Chong.
“Yes, I was surprised and speechless,” said Fadzil.
Fadzil has named figure skater Julian Yee, Anja, and male speed skaters De-Vin Wong and Mohamad Ariff Rasydan as Malaysia’s prospects for the Winter Olympics.
“We have Julian, who will participate in Germany for the final qualification round (Nebelhorn Trophy on Sept 27) and the three speed skaters will enter the qualification for the World Cup.”
“They will compete back-to-back in Budapest, Shanghai, and Seoul where they need to get points to be among the best 40 in order to qualify for Pyeongchang.”
Julian will compete in the Nebelhorn Trophy in his last attempt to qualify for the Olympics as he needs to be placed in the top-20 finish in the singles to book a berth.
“We have to work more on the ladies but they are not that far.
“They have to do more training, more competitions and currently, we are grooming young ones to sustain the legacy we have created.”
Fadzil also touched on the Philippines being the powerhouses in ice hockey but that is partially due to their accessibility to facilities.
“They have three international-size ice rinks and they have the facilities, they’ll keep moving forward.”