OCM sec-gen hopes diving, badminton and cycling bring home more medals
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 -- Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary-general, Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib hopes that sports such as diving, badminton and track cycling continue contributing medals for Malaysia at the Olympic Games.
At Rio 2016, Malaysia earned three silver medals in badminton, one silver in diving and one bronze in cycling, its best ever achievement in the Games to date.
In fact, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican recently said the country had high hopes on representatives in the three sports to bring back the elusive Olympic gold medal.
Speaking ahead of the Tokyo Olympics which will officially begin this Friday, Mohd Nazifuddin said winning medals would be an indication of the maturity of the athletes in these sports.
“I am very happy if they can come back with the medals, and I hope going forward, they will continue contributing to the medals tally in the Olympic Games,” he said in a video shared to the media, today
However, Mohd Nazifuddin said he would discount the possibility that other sports would emerge better and stronger for the country in the future.
Meanwhile, he said that a challenging role lied ahead for any chef de mission (CDM) for the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everything has to be done virtually. I suppose this is a learning process for everyone. This is historic as the Olympic Games will be held amidst an ongoing pandemic,” he added.
Mohd Nazifuddin is managing the athletes in Tokyo and assisting the Malaysian contingent’s CD, Datuk Lee Chong Wei from there, as the latter isn’t allowed to travel due to health reasons.
Chong Wei will perform his duties from home ground through online interactions with the athletes and officials in Japan.
Thirty athletes will be representing Malaysia in 27 events covering 10 sports at the Games.
-- BERNAMA
