PETALING JAYA – The National Sports Council (NSC) will provide support to athletes who have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics despite them not being in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme.
The high-performance programme was designed to provide top-up services to athletes who have the potential to win Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal.
To date, only five national athletes have booked their tickets to Paris – namely Bertrand Rhodict Lises (diving), Johnathan Wong (10m air pistol), Ariana Nur Dania Zairi (archery), Nur Shazrin Mohd Latiff (sailing), and Nur Aisyah Mohd Zubir (cycling).
Paris chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, who is also the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) deputy president, said that he has discussed the matter with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
“OCM, the National Sports Council (NSC), and the minister will try to accommodate any requests for support from the athletes who have qualified for Paris.
“Besides chasing the nation’s first gold medal, we also want to win as many medals as possible as a number of our athletes have failed to qualify for the Olympics, and that is why we need to pay attention to athletes who are not in the programme.
“Our contingent to Paris is now smaller, and we have to support other athletes as well,” he told reporters today after meeting with Nur Shazrin at a hotel here today.
Divers Datuk Pandelela Rinong, Nur Dhabitah Sabri, and Ng Yan Yee failed to book their slot in Paris, leaving Bertrand as the sole representative in diving for Paris.
Regarding Bertrand and Ariana, Hamidin said that the 19-year-olds need to be taken care of as they are the future and can represent the nation in at least two more Olympic Games.
“They are young, and the associations need to take care of them because they have the potential and character to represent the nation for a long time.
“NSC and the National Sports Institute need to assist in the development of these youngsters as they can represent Malaysia at Los Angeles 2028 and beyond,” added Hamidin. – February 26, 2024