KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — The actual size of the Malaysian contingent to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, from July 28 to August 8, will be known next week, with around 130 national athletes expected to take part in the Games.

Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the matter would be decided after the selection committee meeting on June 14, followed by a workshop with team managers two days later.

"We received a quota of 92 athletes, we have to work toward it to select sports we really want to send. We also have some athletes who have qualified through qualification tournaments,” he said after the OCM executive board meeting at Wisma OCM today.

The number of athletes that have qualified through such tournaments include 13 from rugby, eight from table tennis, seven from weightlifting, and nine para athletes, along with two additional slots for national divers Jellson Jabillin and Nur Dhabitah Sabri.

The Malaysian contingent will be smaller than the average of 170 athletes previously, as the hosts have reduced the number of events contested, including removing shooting and archery.

In addition, the men’s hockey squad did not join the Commonwealth Games this year as they wanted to focus on the Asian Cup in Jakarta and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, both offering berths to the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Unfortunately, the Asian Games that was scheduled for September 10 to 25 has been postponed to an undetermined date following the rise of Covid-19 cases in China.

Mohamad Norza said currently they have yet to receive a new date from the Asian Olympic Commitee and China. — Bernama