KUALA LUMPUR: With no clear-cut gold prospect in the national contingent for the 2024 Olympics, Timesport wasn't expecting the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, which was only introduced in March last year, to produce a miracle in Paris.
Though Malaysia didn't win any Olympic gold, the overall performance in Paris shows that the RTG, in less than 18 months since its implementation, has started to show encouraging results.
Besides winning two badminton bronze medals, Malaysia came close to a podium finish in track cycling and weightlifting, the latter a sport which our athletes have never excelled in at Olympic level previously.
Three national records were also broken by RTG athletes in track cycling (two) and weightlifting.
The brainchild of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, the RTG is an elite athlete preparatory programme to provide cream-of-the-crop athletes with the additional support to challenge for gold in Paris, LA2028 and other major international competitions.
The government allocated RM5 million to RTG last year and RM20 million for this year.
The badminton squad showed a marked improvement over their performance at Tokyo 2020, especially in terms of mental strength which helped them to convert the big points.
With RTG help, the BA of Malaysia brought in quality sparring partners from Indonesia and Taiwan for the national players, and also recruited psychologist Frederick Tan. The badminton squad also had a 10-day training camp in Aire Sure La Lys, Paris, just before the Games.
Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah created history in Paris by becoming the first Malaysian women's pair to reach an Olympic semi-final. Though they missed out on a bronze, the duo's feat was nevertheless impressive as they had been drawn in the "group of death" alongside eventual winners Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China and Indonesian heavyweights Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti.
"Sparring with the Indonesian players improved our game significantly. After winning the French Open (in 2022), it took us some time to rediscover our true form. We are happy that we got to show our potential at the Olympics," said Thinaah recently.
"We are disappointed not to return with a medal but we are happy with our overall performance. We hope RTG can continue to support us."
Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also did well to reach the quarterfinals after unexpectedly topping their group.
"I had a minor injury that was sorted out, thanks to RTG support and it helped me give my best in Paris," said Tang Jie.
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik showed nerves of steel to save four match points before going on to upset Denmark's Anders Skaarup Rasmussen-Kim Astrup in the men's doubles bronze medal match.
Weightlifter Aniq Kasdan, making his Olympic debut, cleared an impressive 297 kilogrammes, which erased his own national record, en route to fourth place in the men's under-61kg class in Paris. Only one kilogramme separated Aniq from American bronze medallist Hampton Morris.
Aniq, 22, said he was grateful for the comprehensive RTG support, and is determined to become an Olympic champion at LA20278.
"I thank RTG for all the support they have provided me, especially in terms of nutrition and recovery," said Aniq, who went for a training camp in Turkiye prior to the Games.
"Their support services have been excellent and I hope they will continue to support athletes until LA2028."
In track cycling, Azizulhasni Awang and Izzah Izzati Asri both notched new national records in the 200m time trial while Shah Firdaus Sahrom clocked a new personal best.
Shah shone to reach the men's keirin final and was in a strong position to secure a bronze before he was taken out in a crash at the final bend, roughly 100m from the finish line.
Shah felt that the RTG has boosted the track squad immensely.
"RTG has definitely helped us a lot. Before RTG, we actually had a lot of problems," said Shah.
"We had issues with our allowances, and had to pick and choose our races because our budget was limited.
"In fact, I had been using the same carbon shoes since 2017 even though they had already cracked. RTG came in last year and they got me two new pairs. The shoes are quite expensive at RM8,000 per pair because they are custom-made but I need them to race.
"Thanks to RTG, we can go to a lot more races now which is great for our development."
Azizulhasni, Shah and Izzah spent two months racing and training in Belgium and Spain prior to the Olympics.
In addition to sport science support, competition exposure and coaching, athletes under the RTG programme also receive a RM3,000 monthly allowance.
Preparations for LA2028 had already begun prior to the Paris Games following the announcement that squash had been accepted into the Olympics programme.
Four national players - Ng Eain Yow, S. Sivasangari, Aifa Azman and Aira Azman - have been identified for the Fast Track RTG programme.
With a full Olympic cycle to work with this time, the RTG-backed athletes are likely to show even better performances when Malaysia continue the quest to win their first-ever Olympic gold at LA2028.