This article is sponsored by Ministry of Youth and Sports
Images via @__pearlytan and @azizulhasniawang/Instagram
In the 2016 Olympic Games, national cyclist Dato Muhammad Azizulhasni Awang took home the bronze medal. Then in 2020, he scored a silver. Will 2024 see him cycle to the #1 spot and become Malaysia’s first Olympics gold medalist?
The Ministry of Youth and Sports sure hopes so. In fact, they are so serious about helping our athletes win gold that they’ve set up a program focused on prepping our sportsmen and women for the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games.
It’s called the Road To Gold (RTG) program
Made up of a team of administrators and former athletes such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Datuk Nicol Ann David, RTG offers support to athletes in the form of training, medical services, and more.
RTG has identified a team of national athletes to be potential Olympics gold medallists at the Paris Games
It’s not surprising to find familiar faces Dato Azizulhasni, Dato Pandelela, and Nur Dhabitah on the list given their past achievements. Other talents include M Thinaah, and national weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan.
It’s also interesting to note that badminton players make up more than half of the list of RTG athletes so far!
These are the athletes that have been selected so far:
- Dato’ Muhammad Azizulhasni Awang (Cycling)
- Muhammad Shah Firdaus bin Sahrom (Cycling)
- Dato’ Pandelela Rinong Pamg (Diving)
- Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Diving)
- Mohamad Aniq Kasdan (Weightlifting)
- Ng Tze Yong (Badminton)
- Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik (Badminton)
- Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi (Badminton)
- Pearly Tan and M Thinaah (Badminton)
- Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei (Badminton)
RTG will be concentrating on squash too now that it’s part of LA2028
Last month, the Olympics committee announced that squash will make its debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
This is great news for Team Malaysia especially since our national squash players did very well at the recent Asian Games, picking up 3 gold medals! To ensure they continue to excel, Datuk Nicol and the RTG committee will work with relevant parties to create a strategic plan incorporating squash into the RTG program.
What else can be expected from the RTG program and athletes?
As we move closer towards the 2024 and 2028 Olympics, the list of RTG athletes will grow to incorporate more deserving athletes.
Keep up with the journey to our first Olympic gold and other initiatives by the Ministry of Youth and Sports on their official website, Facebook, and Instagram.
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