GRAND SEND-OFF INSPIRES SHUTTLERS
Prime Minister Muhyiddin’s presence made it a memorable departure for Tokyo-bound contingent
GETTING a grand sendoff by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and other top officials ahead of the Tokyo Olympics was indeed a memorable event for national men's doubles shuttler Aaron Chia.
Aaron was one of the 18 Malaysian athletes who left for Japan on Saturday for the delayed Olympic Games that start on Friday.
Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria and Chef-de-Mission Datuk Lee Chong Wei were also at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on Saturday.
In his speech, the Prime Minister urged the athletes to strive for glory and bring home Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal from Tokyo.
When contacted in Tokyo, Aaron said: “It was something else. The
whole atmosphere was a huge encouragement to us athletes.
“As we know, coming to this Olympics was never an easy process, especially with the whole Covid-19 situation, but when your Prime Minister tells you that 30-over million Malaysians are standing behind us, you can't help but feel a sense of pride.
Aaron and the rest of the Malaysian squad checked into the Olympic Village yesterday, after nearly four hours of clearing strict protocols at Narita International
Airport in Japan.
“Everything went well. Yes, the process at the airport was a long one, but that's normal for everyone.
"The Games Village is beautiful. We're just by the river. For now, we cannot roam freely in the Olympic Village, and we are not allowed to mingle with other athletes yet. “We still need to be very careful. It would be a waste if anything were to happen. We need to be careful,” added Aaron.
The Melaka-born shuttler and his World No 9 partner Soh Wooi Yik have set an early target to reach the quarter-finals first before aiming higher.
“Looking at our group (Group D), I would say everyone has an equal chance of making the knockout stage.
“That’s our target, to clear our group first, and then take it one step at a time from there.
“This is our first Olympics, and we are excited. What we can promise the people of Malaysia is we will give our best to make everyone proud,” said Aaron.
The other pairs in Group D are World No 2 Mohammad AhsanHendra Setiawan of Indonesia, Choi Solgyu-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea and Jason Anthony Ho-Shue-Nyl Yakura of Canada.
Only the top two pairs from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
At the previous edition in Rio five years ago, Malaysia won silver in the men’s doubles through Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong.