Malaysia’s Olympic gold medal hopes on the rise
Previously, we only relied on badminton (as a gold medal prospect)... Now, we have (capable) athletes in other sporting events.
KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton is not Malaysia’s only hope of attaining the country’s first Olympics gold medal as several other sports have been identified capable of winning the elusive gold, says National Sports Council director- general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail.
“Previously, we only relied on badminton ( as a gold medal prospect), but this does not mean that we ( MSN) are denying the contributions made by the sport,” he said when met after appearing as a guest on Bernama News Channel’s talk show ‘Ruang Bicara’ at Wisma Bernama here.
“But now, we have ( capable) athletes in other sporting events like diving, for instance, Cheong Jun Hoong who has broken the dominance of Chinese divers in the individual events and we have Azizulhasni (Awang) who can pull off a shock win (in track cycling),” he added.
There is also hope for a gold in the karate- do, which is making its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
Malaysia has three athletes in the world’s top 10, namely Syakilla Salni Jefry Krisnan in the ‘kumite’ category, as well as Lim Chee Wei and Celine Lee Xin Yi in the ‘kata’ category.
Me a nwh i l e , A hma d Shapawi said 2019 would be a qualifying year for athletes and they will head to Tokyo 2020 either on merit or by collecting qualification points.
“T h r ough the restructuring of athlete training programmes, athletes who have been placed in Tier 1 and 2 are now required
Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, National Sports Council director-general
to qualify for the Olympics.
“So far, two national sailors have qualified through their achievements in the Asian Games,” he said.
The sailing duo are Khairul Nizam Affendy and Nur Shazrin Abdul Latif.
On Oct 30, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announced that the Podium Programme would be restructured and fully managed by MSN.
The new programme uses a tiered system approach to allow f lexibility in selecting athletes as well as make it easier to set targets.
Tier 1 is for athletes with a proven track record of Olympic and Paralympic Games participation; Tier 2 (Asian Games, Asian Para Games and Commonwealth Games); Tier 3 ( SEA Games and Para Asean Games); and Tier 4 comprises non-competitive events such as bodybuilding.
The government has allocated RM100 million in Budget 2019 to prepare athletes for the Tokyo Olympics. — Bernama