PETALING JAYA — Athletes in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme need to perform at their best at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China this September if they want to remain on the programme’s list, according to programme coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam.
He said the performance of the athletes at the quadrennial games will be evaluated in depth before the RTG Committee discusses the matter in its meeting thereafter.
“I want them to remember that RTG is an elite programme, consistency of performance is important and a yardstick for them to maintain their status in RTG.
“I hope athletes can perform, maintain and realise the reality of the programme,” he said after the 2022 Sports Writers Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100PLUS Awards ceremony here last night.
He said this when asked about the decision of the RTG Committee if there will be any dropping or addition of athletes to the RTG programme.
Stuart said the RTG Committee will hold frequent meetings with the coaching staff to get feedback on the athletes’ needs and performance.
Meanwhile, touching on developments in the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in M-League matches, Stuart who is also the chief executive officer of the Malaysian Football League (MFL) said the MFL Committee is looking for a solution to ensure that the technology is suitable for use in major stadiums in each state.
“The cheapest VAR solution that is used worldwide is a centralised system, but it requires connectivity stability and we know that in Malaysia the connectivity stability at the stadium level is not stable and does not give us the opportunity to implement the solution.
“Perhaps in a week we will give more information on which solution will be taken in Malaysia that is slightly different from what we see on television,” he said.
Previously, FAM expected VAR to be used in the M-League competition in the Malaysia Cup final this December. — August 30, 2023