KUALA LUMPUR: The show should go on for the much criticised Podium Programme.
This is the view of former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar.
He felt that the Podium Programme, which was launched two years ago, is only at the half way stage, and thus should be allowed to run its full course.
The Podium Programme began in 2016 with an allocation of RM75 million, and managed by the National Sports Institute.
Tunku Imran said the Podium Programme (which has 148 athletes) should continue but with fewer athletes.
He added that the programme can be tweaked to make it better.
He feels that Malaysia still needs foreign expertise to run the elite programme though some parties have called for a stop to hiring technical experts from other countries.
“The problem now with the programme is that there are too many athletes involved,” he said today.
“The programme is to develop our athletes for the 2020 Olympics. We still need foreign help for this, we can’t do this on our own.”
Tunku Imran stressed that a development programme should be set up to complement the Podium Programme.
The development programme can be similar to the Kita Juara programme, which led to Malaysia emerging as overall winners in the medal standings at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
Tunku Imran observed that many Malaysian athletes are not mentally tough enough for the challenges at high level, as evident from the capitulations of the Malaysian men’s hockey team and women’s squash teams in the Asian Games.
The national men’s hockey team threw away their golden chance when they squandered a 5-2 lead against Japan in the final. Malaysia had looked good for the women’s team gold after both Nicol David and S. Sivasangari reached the women’s singles final. However, the Malaysian women fell to India in the team semi-finals.
“Our athletes in many sports have the skills but they need to improve on their mental strength.
“To improve their mental strength, we can start doing so when they are young by exposing them to international competitions.”
On the issue whether Malaysia should continue to let athletes go to the Asian Games under category B, Tunku Imran replied in the affirmative.
He said the athletes should be allowed to do so to gain experience.
Under category B, athletes are allowed to compete in the Asian Games even though they do not qualify on merit. However, the sports ministry will compensate their travel and accommodation expenses if they win a medal.