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KUALA LUMPUR: The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) believes that at least 20 national athletes will qualify for the Paris Olympics on July 26-Aug 11.
Chef de Mission Datuk Hamidin Amin is optimistic about achieving this target as several sports still have Olympic qualifying competitions ongoing, including archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, football, golf, track cycling, taekwondo, and weightlifting.
As of now, only five Malaysian athletes have qualified for the Olympics based on merit. They are Bertrand Rhodict Lises (diving), Nur Shazrin Latif (sailing), Johnathan Wong (shooting), Ariana Nur Dania Zairi (archery), and Nur Aisyah Mohd Zubir (road cycling).
However, it would be considered a regression if Malaysia send only 20 or fewer athletes to the Paris Games.
Malaysia had 30 athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 32 in Rio (2016), 29 in London (2012), 32 in Beijing (2008), 26 in Athens (2004), 40 in Sydney (2000), 35 in Atlanta (1996), and 26 in Barcelona (1992).
The lowest representation was nine athletes at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, while the highest number, 64 athletes, participated in the 1964 Tokyo edition.
"A few badminton players and golfers have unofficially qualified for the Olympics, but the numbers are not confirmed yet. We may also earn some spots through wild cards and unused quotas," said Hamidin after chairing the Paris Olympics Games team managers' meeting at Wisma OCM today.
Regarding the possibility of Malaysian athletes winning medals in Paris, Hamidin said: "It is all about luck. If we are fortunate, we might secure one to three gold medals.
"We have several potential athletes capable of achieving medal success. One of our hopefuls is cyclist Azizulhasni Awang."
The national youth team will aim for an Olympic spot at the Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha from April 15 to May 3.
The top three teams in Doha will qualify for the Paris Games, while the fourth-placed team will advance to the intercontinental playoff against a team from Africa.
Hamidin, who is also the president of the FA of Malaysia (FAM), hopes the national youth team will perform well in the tournament.
"I hope our team will reach the quarter-finals in Doha. We have Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait in our group, and I believe we have a chance.
"To aim for the Olympics, we need to take things step-by-step. We have an experienced youth squad with several players already having senior team experience. Reaching the quarter-finals will be a significant achievement."
Malaysia will play warm-up matches against China and Qatar in Doha before the Under-23 Asian Cup."