KUALA LUMPUR: The Fast Track programme, which was announced recently by the Road To Gold committee, could be the turning point in Malaysia's quest for its first ever Olympic gold medal.
Fast Track has been formed with the mission of developing talented athletes between the ages of 16 and 25 with the goal of winning gold at the 2028 LA Olympics.
So far, the athletes chosen for the Fast Track programme are squash players S. Sivasangari, Ng Eain Yow, sisters Aira and Aifa Azman, and divers Bertrand Rhodict Lises and Enrique Maccartney Harold.
This new programme has got the thumbs up from sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli who sees it as a proper long-term plan to end Malaysia's wait for an Olympic gold.
"For me, the results in Paris (Olympics) should not be given emphasis. We need to focus and plan for LA 2028," he said.
"With the Fast Track programme, the athletes will be given structured material and financial support. So, they must be ready to deliver the results that we want.
"Having athletes in the Fast Track programme from now itself, will enable their performance to be monitored and if there are pitfalls, they can be identified and sorted out to put the athletes back on track."
Pekan said there must be a concentrated effort to get more athletes into the Fast Track programme.
He added that there should be emphasis on developing athletes in skill-based sports like archery and shooting.
"In some sports, the physique makes a difference and us being Asians could be at a disadvantage. So we need to focus on sports that involve skills.
"Talent identification and development is another area that should be given importance.
"We had unearthed talent for diving in Sarawak like Pandelela (Rinong). We should double the effort to unearth new talent. We need to think about expanding the talent-base and get the cream of the crop to reach their potential.
"At the same time, we need to look at talent with longevity, where they can compete at least in two Olympic cycles."
Pekan said a proper mechanism is needed in dealing with young athletes as the challenges and distractions faced by the current generation of youths are different.
"The youths these days have so many distractions like social media and entertainment from their handphones. These are not the challenges faced by athletes from yesteryears and we have to accept that time has changed."