KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria has addressed accusations regarding his family members' presence at the 2024 Paris Olympics, clarifying that their accreditation was granted through a personal quota separate from the national team’s allocation.
Responding to concerns raised about his family's presence in Paris, Norza told Malaysiakini: “As the President of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and OCM, I am given a special allocation to bring my own guests. This quota is distinct and unrelated to the accreditation cards issued to athletes and the national team.”
The controversy started after a social media user posted on X a photo showing what appeared to be Norza’s wife and son wearing accreditation cards at one of the Olympic matches.
This followed criticism over the limited number of accreditation cards available, which allegedly affected the participation of national women's badminton player Goh Jin Wei's coach, Nova Armada.
Due to insufficient cards from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Armada was unable to accompany Jin Wei to Paris.
However, Jin Wei was supported by Rexy Mainaky, Director of Coaching at the Malaysian Badminton Academy (ABM), and the assistant to the national men's doubles coach during the games.
To note, Jin Wei is a professional badminton athlete and not under BAM's supervision.
