KUALA LUMPUR: Six lucky athletes will compete in the Gold Coast next month after the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) handed additional quota spots to Malaysia.
On Tuesday, Olympic Council of Malaysia's (OCM) president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar confirmed that six additional athletes will make up the 178-member contingent.
This comes after boxing was dropped from the list, following the withdrawal of Fuad Mohd Redzuan, who picked up an injury at last month’s pre-Asian Games in Indonesia.
Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli (athletics), Danieal Haikkal Edy Suhaidee (cycling), Ho Ying (table tennis), Yang Chen Yin (triathlon), Abraham Eng and Charles Chen (both shooting) are the new additions.
Tunku Imran, who chaired OCM board meeting on Tuesday, said: “I would like to announce that we managed to sneak in another six athletes on the final day of registration as the CGF were kind enough to give us the additional slots.
"Boxing was initially part of the list, but it is no longer there because the athlete who was registered (Fuad) picked up an injury.
"So there were six appeals, and all got it.
"We all know how competitive the Games are, especially with powerhouses like Australia, England, South Africa and Canada, but I believe our athletes will come good.
"OCM has never been the one to set targets, and we do not look at gold medals alone. Instead we look at all the medals."
Tunku Imran added that a flag-bearer has yet to be named for the games, scheduled on Apr 4-15.
"There were proposals today, but we have yet to make a decision. You will know about it in due time.”
OCM secretary general Datuk Low Beng Choo explained that the final list also includes 8 para athletes and 60 athletes from four team sports — rugby, men's hockey, women's hockey and basketball.
keywords: Commonwealth Games, CGF, quota spots, OCM, president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar