By FAZIL MAHMUD
IT’S shocking how some people get caught up with critical theories and often dreadful opinions in the lead up to major sporting events. In this case, the major event that will take place 11 months from today is the 2024 Paris Olympics.
For the record, our nation has won 13 Olympic medals overall – eight silver and five bronze – since first participating in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne as Malaya and North Borneo.
Badminton ace Lee Chong Wei is Malaysia’s most successful athlete with three silver medals.
It seems the inclusion of several athletes, Ng Tze Yong, mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and the men’s hockey team in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme has somewhat sowed some seeds of discontentment. But why?
The men’s hockey team is currently ranked 10th in the FIH World Rankings and third in Asia.
On a good day, the Malaysians are capable of burying even top-class acts like India (ranked World No 4).
The Malaysian men’s hockey team last appeared in the Sydney Olympics, and their inclusion in the RTG is indeed a massive boost especially as they attempt to return to the Olympics after 24 years.
The RTG support for the hockey team will be an enormous encouragement to the team as they try to strike gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China and automatically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As for Tze Yong and the mixed doubles pair of Tang Jie- Ee Wei, the RTG programme will fire up and inspire them in their quest to make it to Paris, and possibly lay the groundwork for their successful run in 2028.
These players have already begun showing clear signs of potential to be future winners, they deserve all the help they can get, particularly for the Olympics.
We all know RTG was initiated for good reasons, let’s keep it that way.
