AN ACTION PACKED 2018
Thrills for fans from Thomas Cup to Fifa World Cup and other major events
DEVINDER SINGH devinder@nst.com.my
MALAYSIAN athletes face major challenges at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Indonesia Asian Games in 2018 but sports fans will also be riveted by the action at the football World Cup in Russia.
The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on Feb 9-25 should also not be missed as Malaysia will have two athletes competing for the first time in the country’s history.
But the Commonwealth Games on April 4-15 will be the national contingent’s first test of their abilities after finishing top of the medal tally at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in August.
The country’s Sea Games performance has raised hopes for an improved display in the Gold Coast after a modest six-gold haul in Glasgow four years ago.
The high-performance Podium Programme has targeted a top10 finish in the medals tally at both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Malaysia came in 12th in Glasgow and would need to win at least 10 gold medals to have a chance of a top-10 finish.
At the last Asian Games in Incheon, Malaysia won four gold medals to finish 14th in the medal tally. It might take 10 gold medals to get into the top-10 in Indonesia on Aug 18-Sept 2.
It will be an action-packed year in football on both the domestic and international front.
Attention will be fixed on whether Germany can retain the World Cup in Russia on June 14July 15 and whether Brazil have recovered from the trauma of four years ago on home soil.
The Malaysian Super League kicks off on Feb 3 with the Charity Cup match between Johor Darul Ta’zim and Kedah with the FA Cup and Malaysia Cup finals scheduled for July 7 and Nov 3 respectively.
The AFF Cup takes centrestage in November and December with a new format which sees 10 teams split into two groups and playing matches home and away.
It will also be an exciting year for the men’s hockey team following their qualification for the World Cup in November.
Malaysia will attempt to qualify for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in Thailand when the Asia Team Championships is held in Alor Star in February.
Despite the absence of a Formula One Grand Prix in Malaysia, fans will still flock to the Sepang Circuit on Nov 2-4 for the popular Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix to back local riders.
Let’s not forget to give our support to figure skater Julian Yee and alpine skier Jeffrey Webb, who will be flying the Malaysian flag at the Winter Olympics for the first time.