Reezal Merican said history had proven that from the 11 medals won in 17 Olympic appearances of the national contingent so far, four were contributed by athletes in the maiden appearances in the world’s biggest sporting event. – Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR (July 8): Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said it is not impossible for the country’s young athletes to make a victorious debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan this month.
Reezal Merican said history had proven that from the 11 medals won in 17 Olympic appearances of the national contingent so far, four were contributed by athletes in the maiden appearances in the world’s biggest sporting event.
He said they were the three men’s badminton doubles pairs, Datuk Razif Sidek-Datuk Seri Jalani Sidek in Barcelona 1992 (bronze); Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock in Atlanta 1996 (silver) and Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in Rio 2016 (silver) as well as diving queen Pandelela Rinong in London 2012 (bronze).
“Before this. we saw four national representatives winning medals at the Olympic Games (when competing for the first time) and this means athletes participating in Tokyo soon, could also repeat the earlier successes,” he told a virtual media conference today.
Reezal Merican had earlier held an online session with coaches and managers of the national contingent to the Olympic Games today.
A total of 30 athletes have qualified for Tokyo Olympics and among the new faces are Lee Zii Jia (badminton); Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (badminton); Farah Ann Abdul Hadi (gymnastics); and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom (cycling).
Meanwhile, Reezal Merican said based on the sharing of information by the national contingent coaches and managers, all athletes are raring to go despite the Covid-19 pandemic which is still affecting the world now.
In this regard, he again stressed that all athletes including officers and coaches should emphasise on their safety and health apart from complying with all protocols set by Tokyo Olympics organiser to prevent infection as well as being cautious on doping issue.
At the same time, he said only four team managers from aquatics, badminton, golf and athletics would be going to Tokyo while other sports would be managed by their respective coaches there.
“The Olympic Council of Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib will be acting as the chief de mission (CDM) in terms of administration in Japan while Datuk Lee Chong Wei would remain as the actual CDM,” he added.
On Monday, Reezal Merican confirmed that Chong Wei would not be going to Japan on health factor and on doctor’s advice which did not allow him to go oversea but he would be monitoring the performance of athletes virtually throughout championship.
In this regard, he also announced meeting all athletes on Saturday to track their latest developments followed by a message from the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on July 13. – Bernama