Malaysia secured 2 bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite the absence of gold medals, there’s one thing that we cannot deny – our athletes have done their very best.
If you think Malaysia has failed in the Paris Olympics, here’s what the President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has to say.
“Be realistic. For instance, we don’t have Malaysian badminton players with a 1st or 2nd world ranking, but we do have those with 12th ranking or lower,” he said during a press conference shared by Harimau Malaya on its YouTube page.
Despite the ranking, Hamidin, who is also the Chef de Mission of the Malaysian Contingent to the Paris Olympics (CDM) highlighted that many Malaysian badminton players have improved over the years in terms of their performance before they left for the Paris Olympics.
“If they’re ranked the 1st and still came back without a gold medal, then it’s a different story.”
“No gold for all sports”
When asked what else can our athletes do to improve, Hamidin said there are 2 things they have to do, and they’ll have to start with choosing the right sports.
“Focus on the sports that we’re aiming to get gold medals for. We can’t aim for gold medals in ALL sports.”
The next Olympics is 4 years away and despite the massive time gap, Hamidin said the preparation for the next Olympics in 2028 has to START NOW.
“Not 6 months before, not a year before. Start now,” Hamidin emphasised.
The preparation is not just limited to the athletes. Hamidin said that it involves everyone, including sports organisations like the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the National Sports Council of Malaysia (MSN).
Hamidin is convinced that if these 2 crucial steps are done, there is a chance for gold medals.
“If these steps are taken and done right, we might have the chance for gold medals in Los Angeles. We didn’t bring back any gold medals from Paris, so the ‘vengeance’ for a gold medal is strong.”
He added that the Malaysian athletes will need to sacrifice a lot to win in the Olympics, which Hamidin dubbed “an elite event.”
We can’t wait to see what LA28 (Los Angeles Olympics 2028) has in store for us!
