PARIS, July 24 — Malaysia’s quest to end its nearly seven-decade wait for a maiden Olympic gold medal is set to begin on Thursday (July 25) as the archery competitions starts, a day before the 2024 Paris Games’ opening ceremony on Friday.

After years of intensive planning and preparations, the organisers are set to host the Paris Games in full force to welcome about 10,500 athletes, and for the first time ever, the opening ceremony will not be held in a traditional closed stadium but on the River Seine, with athletes parading in boats.

For Malaysia, the big question is whether the national contingent of 26 athletes, with the majority (61.5 percent) being debutants, can clinch the elusive Olympic gold by the closing ceremony on Aug 11.

Malaysia have won a total of eight silver and five bronze medals in the Olympic Games, with badminton contributing the lion’s share of six silver and three bronze medals.

On paper, track cycling and badminton seem to be the best bets for the maiden gold medal, which has eluded the country since its debut (as Malaya) 68 years ago at the 1956 Melbourne Games.

In the badminton competition, set to be held at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena from July 27 to Aug 5, the men’s doubles pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and independent men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia have the best chances for medals. Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei could be a surprise package in the mixed doubles podium.

Having emerged as Malaysia’s first world champions of badminton in 2022 and securing a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Aaron-Wooi Yik seem capable of another strong showing, but they must maintain a valiant effort and consistent performance to attain the Greatest of All-Time (GOAT) status with the Olympic title.

The world number five pair must first secure a top-two finish in Group A against China’s world number one Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Great Britain) and Adam Dong-Nyl Yakura (Canada) to advance to the quarter-finals to stay in contention for medal.

In their debut at the Tokyo Games, Aaron-Wooi Yik stunned Indonesians Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (top seeds) in the quarter-finals and later former world champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (second seeds) in the bronze playoff, after losing to Li Jun Hui-Liu Yu Chen of China in the semi-finals.

The men’s doubles event has been a ‘lucky charm’ for Malaysia, opening the country’s Olympics medal account via siblings Datuk Razif Sidek-Datuk Seri Jalani Sidek’s bronze when badminton was first contested at the Barcelona 1992 edition, while Datuk Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock won the country’s first silver at the Atlanta Games in 1996, and Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong repeating the silver feat at Rio 2016.

For the world number seven Zii Jia, who has been showing great performances in the run-up to the Olympics by winning the Thailand Open and Australian Open titles, it is time for him to redeem his top shuttler status after inconsistent outings over the years.

However, the results in the BWF World Tour are not indicative of the actual situation, as many will peak at the Olympics while also trying to avoid injuries in the run-up to the world’s biggest sporting event. Zii Jia was eliminated by China’s Chen Long in the last 16 stage in Tokyo.

Zii Jia, the 2021 All England champion, is expected to ease through Group G against Spain’s Pablo Abian and Viren Nettasinghe from Sri Lanka, but a real test awaits in the last 16 stage against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia.

The 26-year-old then is expected to rub shoulders against the likes of Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals, China’s world number one Shi Yu Qi in the semi-finals, and possibly face reigning champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the gold-medal showdown.

Debutants Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who are in Group D with second seeds from China, Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai of the United States, and Singapore’s Terry Hee Yong Kai-Jessica Tan Wei Han, will be banking on their coach Nova Widianto’s experience in the mixed doubles. Widianto won a Beijing 2008 Olympic silver and two world championships.

Meanwhile, the women’s doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will have an uphill task from the beginning against top seeds and Tokyo silver medallists Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China, Japan’s world number six Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara, and world number nine Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti of Indonesia in Group A.

Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, the 2017 world champion in keirin, is among the hopefuls for the historic feat in his fifth and last Olympic outing from Aug 5-11 at the National Velodrome in St Quentin-en-Yvelines, approximately 40 km from Paris.

After his debut in the 2008 Beijing Games, ‘The Pocket Rocketman’ became the first Malaysian to win a medal in Olympic track cycling, securing a keirin bronze in Rio 2016.

The 36-year-old almost tasted gold in the COVID-19 pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, but a tactical miscalculation left Jason Kenny for a solo breakaway from the main group when Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer didn’t attempt to chase the Great Britain rider, leaving the Malaysian to settle for silver.

Besides needing to be in top shape, Mohd Azizulhasni must be wary of his opponents’ tactics and his health condition after undergoing open heart surgery in April 2022 due to a rare heart problem known as the anomalous aortic origin of a right coronary artery (AAORCA).

Hopes are also high on Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom to step out of Mohd Azizulhasni’s shadow and become a dark horse for a podium spot, while debutant Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri is expected to gain experience and become a medal contender in the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Based on the performances over the past two years, Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands, who won 13 gold medals at the World Championships, Matthew Richardson (Australia), Nicolas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago), Kevin Quintero from Colombia and Japan’s Ota Kaiya and Shinji Nakano are among the main contenders for the podium in the sprint and keirin events at Paris 2024.

National archery trio, led by 19-year-old Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil and Syaqiera Mashayikh, who are set for the individual ranking round tomorrow, must stay fully focused and calm against the powerhouses like South Korea, China and Mexico to hit their new personal bests.

The diving squad, which contributed a women’s 10m platform bronze through Datuk Pandelela Rinong in London 2012 and a silver in the platform synchronised event via Pandelela-Cheong Jun Hoong in Rio 2016, might return home without medals, similar to the Tokyo Games.

Nur Dhabitah Sabri, who finished fourth in the women’s 3m springboard in the previous edition, possibly can challenge for a medal but based on her current form, she seems far from her best, while debutant Bertrand Rhodict Lises hopes to book his ticket to the men’s 10m platform finals.

Additionally, shooter Johnathan Wong Guanjie (men’s 10m air pistol) and weightlifter Muhammad Aniq Kasdan (men’s 61kg) also have chances to create history by emerging as the first Malaysians to win medals in their respective events if the stars align, while sprinter Muhammad Azeem Fahmi would attempt to dip below 10 seconds (s) by renewing his national record of 10.09s in the highly competitive men’s 100m.

Other Malaysians to be in action include Goh Jin Wei (women’s singles), cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir (road race), golfers Gavin Kyle Green and Ashley Lau, sailors Khairulnizam Mohd Affendy (ILCA 7 single-handed dinghy) and Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif (ILCA 6 single-handed dinghy) and swimmers Khiew Hoe Yan (men’s 400m freestyle) and Tan Ruoxin (women’s 100m breaststroke).

Despite the odds and predictions, let’s hope that all the Malaysian athletes fare well, either by claiming the elusive gold, securing a podium finish or bettering their personal bests. After all, miracles do happen at the Olympic Games.—Bernama