PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will not boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It is reported that up to 40 countries could boycott the Games if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, even if they did so under a neutral flag.
Among the countries threatening to skip the event are the United States, Germany and Australia.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said Malaysia will send its athletes to the Paris Games.
"We made this decision because sports is above politics," said Yeoh after today's Road to Gold press conference in Putrajaya.
The IOC has opened up a pathway to competition outside the Olympics for Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete under a neutral flag - with some sports federations like table tennis eagerly agreeing to let previously banned athletes from Russia and Belarus return to competition.
Meanwhile, Yeoh announced the list of athletes under the Road to Gold (RTG) today.
Those in RTG are Azizulhasni Awang (track cycling), Shah Firdaus Sahrom Awang (track cycling), Lee Zii Jia (badminton),
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (badminton), Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (badminton), Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah (badminton), Tan Kian Ming-Lai Pei Jing (badminton), Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (badminton), Pandalela Rinong (diving) and Nur Dhabitah Sabri (diving).
The RTG is a programme to prepare athletes for the Paris Olympics.