PETALING JAYA: It is time for Malaysia to face the reality and increase efforts for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The Malaysian contingent failed again to land the country’s first gold medal and had to be satisfied with two hard-fought bronzes that came from shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles) and Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles).
There were some good fighting performances but overall, it is still a huge letdown as millions were spent under the Road to Gold programme to end the miserable gold-medal wait.
Malaysia are still left behind, not only at the world stage but are also trailing some of their regional rivals.
The road ahead looks tough but chef de mission (CDM) Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin (pic) is staying positive.
“Our athletes tried their best to go for gold but to no avail on this big stage. Some of them did show they had the potential to challenge for medals,” said Hamidin.
“One of our best bets was Azizulhasni Awang, who won silver in keirin three years ago in Tokyo. He, however, was disqualified. Of course, it’s disappointing but imagine how he would have felt.
“But I believe badminton exceeded expectations. World No. 7 Zii Jia and world No. 5 Aaron-Wooi Yik finished third. Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah reached the semis when they were only ranked 13th in the world.
“Weightlifter Aniq (Kasdan) also showed he could fight for a medal when he finished fourth.
“These are improvements we should be proud of. The LA dream has to start now. We have to work for the gold now.”
Out of the 26 athletes, 15 of them (58 per cent) made their Olympics debut, while 22 qualified on merit – three based on wild card and one on unused quota.
Five of them made their third or more Olympics appearance – Azizul (5), sailor Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy (4) – and those who made it three were diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri, golfer Gavin Kyle Green and Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif.
Malaysia sent the third biggest team after Thailand (52) and Indonesia (26), followed by Singapore (23) and the Philippines (22). With two bronzes, they finished fourth behind the Philippines (2-0-2), Indonesia (2-0-1) and Thailand (1-3-2).
Among the Asian nations, Malaysia are ranked 18th out of 45.
In the overall standings, Malaysia ended up 80th out of 206 nations.
Deputy chef de mission Datuk Nicol David said support from all the sports stakeholders must continue as Malaysian athletes aim to end the gold medal drought in the future.
“Overall, it was a good job by our athletes. Some have gone past their ranking in many events and surpassed their expectations.
“Aniq getting close to the bronze is something to cheer about.
“We just hope that our young and aspiring athletes will shine further. For that to happen, continuous support has to go on.
“Extra support gives us the difference, the extra edge.
“Our athletes now know where they stand at this level. They have experienced it, now they have to work towards raising the bar.”
