Olympics - 50 days to go: Malaysia ready to roll

WITH only 50 days remaining to the start of the Beijing Olympics on Aug 8, the Malaysian contingent is looking decidedly settled with perhaps one or two late comers to the party. So far 33 athletes from nine sports have confirmed their tickets to Beijing and the National Sports Council's (NSC) main concern in the remaining days to the opening ceremony is that all the athletes stay fit and healthy.

Badminton doubles player Koo Kien Keat provided the biggest scare to date when he suffered deep cuts to his arm and thigh when a glass partition which he leaned on near the Jungle Gym in Bukit Jalil shattered.

However Kien Keat is expected to fully recover from his injuries in time to take his place alongside partner Tan Boon Heong in their debut Olympics appearance.

After that incident, the NSC is also hopeful the athletes heed their concerns in an attempt to win Malaysia's first medal since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
"We have constantly reminded the athletes to watch themselves and try to stay clear of injury. We don't want another incident like what happened to Kien Keat," said NSC director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong.

"They must also look after what they eat and ensure they get proper rest. We don't want two to three years of preparation going to waste over something like this."

Zolkples did not discount the possibility of late additions to the contingent, citing athletics duo Noraseela Khalid and Zaiful Zainal Abidin, women archers S. Anabarasi, Irza Hani Abu Samah and Nur Amirah Mohamad and triathlon's Kimbeley Yap as those still in with a chance to qualify.

"This is more or less our contingent to the Olympics although there is a possibility one or two more may qualify later. The end of qualification for athletics is in July, with Noraseela and Zaiful still trying, while the women archers head to France (next week) to try to qualify."

Zolkples added that each sport will be left to continue their preparation as they see fit while ruling out the need to hold a centralised training camp.

"All the coaches have their own plans to prepare their athletes and we are already in the final phase of preparations. The main focus now is on preparing them mentally for the challenge ahead," he said.

In Beijing, the 33 athletes will represent Malaysia in archery (three athletes), athletics (3), aquatics (9), badminton (9), cycling (4), sailing (1), shooting (1), taekwondo (2) and weightlifting (1).

Malaysia's medal hopes are being placed heavily on badminton players Lee Chong Wei in the men singles and the two doubles pairs of Kien Keat-Boon Heong and Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah while the men's archers are an outside bet for bronze in the team event.

Cycling too could surprise given the rise of Azizul Hasni Awang with ample back up from seasoned Olympic campaigner Josiah Ng while the divers, led by Bryan Nickson Lomas , could just as well make a big splash.

Weightlifter Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim was the 33rd Malaysian to book his Olympic berth by virtue of his world ranking of 12 in the men's below 56kg category after finishing fourth at the Asian Championships in Japan last month.

NST