Imran: We are good for medals in more than just badminton

KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time, a hope has been raised for Malaysia to depend on more than one sport for an Olympic medal.

And the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s (OCM) president, Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, saw it as a big achievement for Malaysian sports.

Thus far, 33 athletes have confirmed participation in the Beijing Olympics next month and the bulk of them are from badminton and aquatics.

Tunku Imran does not see more Malaysian athletes making the cut and even if they did so, he felt that they would only be making up the numbers.

Besides badminton and aquatics, Malaysian athletes will feature in athletics, weightlifting, archery, cycling, shooting, sailing and taekwondo.

Previously, Malaysia only have realistic chances to win medals in badminton. The sport made its debut in Barcelona in 1992 and the men’s doubles pair of Razif-Jalani Sidek won the bronze. At the next Games in Atlanta, Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock took the men's doubles silver and Rashid Sidek won the men's singles bronze.

“This time around, we still have a good chance in badminton. But we also have a fair chance in archery and cycling based on the their athletes' recent performances,” said Imran after a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between the Malaysian Cricket Association and the Western Australia Cricket Association yesterday.

“We also have qualifiers in other sports and this shows that there has been a huge improvement over the years in Malaysian sports.

“I must congratulate the NSAs (national sports association) for a job well done. Our archers, especially, have come out from nowhere to be medal contenders.”

Tunku Imran’s only disappointment was the failure of men's hockey to make the cut.

And on the RM1mil reward for an Olympic gold, Tunku Imran said that it was not meant to spoil the athletes.

The Star