With the conclusion of the Paris Olympics 2024, it seems that Malaysia’s quest for the elusive gold medal will have to continue on after the national contingent only managed to secure two bronze medals from the event.
Following the national contingent’s failure to achieve its goal of securing a gold, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has since come forward to apologise for it.
Hannah Yeoh: ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t get Olympic gold’
Taking to her Facebook account, Yeoh started off by saying she was deeply regretful to see the national team not being able to secure gold and took responsibility for it.
On behalf of the Malaysian contingent, I would like to apologise to all Malaysians as we have not yet succeeded in bringing home the first Gold medal for the country.
She also added that the Road to Gold (RTG) Project, whose sole aim is capturing Malaysia’s first ever gold medal, will continue for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
National records made
On the bright side, Yeoh noted that there were some positives that came out from the national team’s performance at the Olympics.
It included Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, and Aniq Kasdan breaking national records at their respective sports while Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Syaqiera Mashayikh achieved their personal best records.
Yeoh also said that technical reports and audit accounts will be gathered before she presents it in Parliament, adding that “all requests and ‘top-up’ services requested by stakeholders, coaches, and athletes were fulfilled before heading to Paris”.
Summary of M’sia’s Olympic performance
At the end of Paris Olympics, Malaysia managed to win two bronze medals thanks to badminton men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and men’s singles Lee Zii Jia.
Malaysia was ranked 80th overall and was the fourth best performing Southeast Asian country behind the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
However, Malaysia’s chances of securing gold has been given a huge boost after it was announced that squash will be included into the 2028 Olympics:
