KUALA LUMPUR – The Youth and Sports Ministry is set to expand the number of sports psychologists by collaborating with local universities for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Minister Hannah Yeoh said that the National Sports Institute (NSI) currently does not have enough in-house sports psychologists with only seven in service, which is inadequate to meet the mental health needs of athletes during major competitions.
“For every 10 athletes, there should ideally be at least two sports psychologists. Right now, we only have seven for both the podium and backup programmes, which means we are falling short in supporting our athletes’ mental well-being.
“Based on the information we have gathered, we also found that our current sports psychologists are not equipped to support para-athletes with intellectual disabilities during games, which I find concerning.
“We are looking to collaborate with local universities such as the Universiti Malaya and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris to provide additional insights on this matter.
“We want to start early and work closely with NSI and the National Sports Council (NSC) to better support the athletes. We are seeking additional funds to implement this programme,” Hannah said during a press conference at the NSC yesterday.
The minister’s suggestion follows a post-mortem of the national contingent’s performance at both the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, during which discussions focused on areas for improvement among sports bodies and athletes ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
The session involved key stakeholders beyond the ministry, including the Olympic Council of Malaysia, the Paralympic Council of Malaysia, the NSC, and the NSI.
The post-mortem session’s other findings were: the need for sports science services, technology use, better coordination for professional athletes, injury management, clearer coaching roles, funding, structured development programmes, detailed performance analysis, a pool of younger athletes, and more female athletes. – November 15, 2024