PARIS, July 25 – Malaysia’s quest to end its nearly seven-decade wait for a maiden Olympic gold medal is set to begin on Thursday (July 25) as the archery competitions starts, a day before the 2024 Paris Games’ opening ceremony on Friday.
After years of intensive planning and preparations, the organisers are set to host the Paris Games in full force to welcome about 10,500 athletes, and for the first time ever, the opening ceremony will not be held in a traditional closed stadium but on the River Seine, with athletes parading in boats.
For Malaysia, the big question is whether the national contingent of 26 athletes, with the majority (61.5 percent) being debutants, can clinch the elusive Olympic gold by the closing ceremony on Aug 11.
Malaysia have won a total of eight silver and five bronze medals in the Olympic Games, with badminton contributing the lion’s share of six silver and three bronze medals.
On paper, track cycling and badminton seem to be the best bets for the maiden gold medal, which has eluded the country since its debut (as Malaya) 68 years ago at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
In the badminton competition, set to be held at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena from July 27 to Aug 5, the men’s doubles pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and independent men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia have the best chances for medals. Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei could be a surprise package in the mixed doubles podium.
Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, the 2017 world champion in keirin, is among the hopefuls for the historic feat in his fifth and last Olympic outing from Aug 5-11 at the National Velodrome in St Quentin-en-Yvelines, approximately 40 km from Paris.
National archery trio, led by 19-year-old Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil and Syaqiera Mashayikh, who are set for the individual ranking round tomorrow, must stay fully focused and calm against the powerhouses like South Korea, China and Mexico to hit their new personal bests.
Additionally, shooter Johnathan Wong Guanjie (men’s 10m air pistol) and weightlifter Muhammad Aniq Kasdan (men’s 61kg) also have chances to create history by emerging as the first Malaysians to win medals in their respective events if the stars align, while sprinter Muhammad Azeem Fahmi would attempt to dip below 10 seconds (s) by renewing his national record of 10.09s in the highly competitive men’s 100m.
