Twenty-six of Malaysia’s finest athletes will go on to make the nation proud at the Paris Olympics that officially begins today.
But beyond the cheers by sports fans, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who urged Malaysians to rally behind the national athletes, there is this fear that the contingent could return home from a rather forgettable outing in the French capital.
Any attempts to plant feel-good narratives will only be met with the cold hard facts: that the majority of the Malaysian athletes had struggled to qualify on merit for the Summer Games, hence the small contingent. In fact, of the 26, four didn’t qualify on merit. Sprinter Muhammad Azeem Fahmi and swimmers Khiew Hoe Yean and Tan Rouxin were given Universality slots, while diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri confirmed participation in the Games through an unused quota.
In an interesting twist, the Malaysian government made public its one Olympic gold medal target. Such a bullish ambition is rather admirable, as the Youth and Sports Ministry had last year insisted on a “no-gold medal” target. Its minister, Hannah Yeoh, upon returning home from the Huangzhou Asian Games on Oct 9, 2023, said: “When we set a high target, we are lambasted for being unrealistic. If we set a low target, critics will say that we do not have faith. If there is no target, they will say we have no confidence.”
Malaysia finished 14th in the Asian Games, with six gold, eight silver, and 18 bronze medals. It was the third-best Southeast Asian nation behind Thailand (12-14-32), and Indonesia (7-11-18). Some five months before Huangzhou, the decision-makers in Malaysian sports were reeling, following the contingent’s unflattering performance at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, which failed to meet its 40-gold medal target. Malaysia returned with 34 gold, 45 silver, and 97 bronze medals.
There were some successes from those who won gold, or improved on their personal best. They should not be robbed of that glory. However, the general perception isn’t very pretty.
It would be rather naive to blame the current set of decision-makers, although at times, some of them seemed aloof with their roles and functions. The decay had been going on for years, if not decades.
There’s barely any emphasis on talent identification at the grassroots, while some guardians of their respective sports are still struggling to understand the meaning of professionalism. There seems to be a disconnect between the schools, states, and the national level, with many believing that it is the responsibility of the government to create star athletes, when that role is supposed to be performed by the district, state, and national associations.
The ministry’s task is to turn Malaysia into a sporting nation. But we are far from it.
To see a Malaysian in the national colours, standing while the Negaraku is being played at the Olympics for the very first time will be a milestone, a watershed moment in the nation’s history.
However, the cacophony of soundbites that would surely follow, would very likely be an affirmation that the decision-makers were justified in their actions, all these years. That the system was never broken. That their decisions were never flawed.
It would send the wrong signal.
Let there be no ambiguity. The system, as it stands, is not great. Our athletes can be trained to be better, hungrier warriors.
It would be a shame if the incandescent glow of Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal is used to blind us of our own flaws and inadequacies.
List of Malaysian athletes
Athletics: Muhammad Azeem Fahmi
Archery: Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashayikh, Nurul Azreena Fazil
Badminton: Lee Zii Jia, Goh Jin Wei, Aaron Chia Teng Fong, Soh Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan Koong Le, Thinaah Muralitharan, Chen Tang Jie, Toh Ee Wei
Cycling: Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir, Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri
Divers: Bertrand Rhodict Lises, Nur Dhabitah Sabri
Golf: Gavin Kyle Green, Ashley Lau Jen Wen
Sailing: Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif, Khairulnizam Affendy
Shooting: Johnathan Wong Guanjie
Swimmers: Khiew Hoe Yean, Tan Rouxin
Weightlifting: Mohamad Aniq Kasdan
Twentytwo13 wishes our national athletes in Paris all the best. Make Malaysia proud!
