SEPANG, Oct 9 — The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) has hinted that it may continue the formula of setting overall medal targets, without specifying the number of gold medals, in future Games.
Its minister, Hannah Yeoh said the new approach used at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games seemed to have been effective in ensuring the athletes were not pressured to deliver the goods.
“When there is a new style, they (athletes) don’t feel the pressure. Seeing how we did not set any (specific) gold medal target, even the bronze medallists felt they were celebrated.
“If it (setting overall medal target) is good, we will continue with it,” she told a media conference after arriving from Hangzhou at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here today.
Hannah said every decision made, including the mechanisms for setting the overall medal target that was proposed by the Nippon Sports Science University of Japan, which has forged a collaboration with the National Sports Council (NSC), was to ensure the well-being of the athletes is guaranteed.
She also revealed that the Nippon Sports Science University personnel are scheduled to return to Malaysia next month to review every result achieved by the national athletes in Hangzhou and assist them in drawing up preparations for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Hannah was also satisfied to see the KBS’ latest effort in introducing a sports matching grant that was announced under Budget 2023 bearing fruit, especially for karate.
She said the Malaysian Karate Federation (Makaf) received funds worth RM1 million to organise the 19th Asian Karate Championships in Melaka in July and their training programmes produced excellent results when their exponents returned home with one gold and two silver medals from Hangzhou.
Muhammad Arif Afifuddin Ab Malik struck gold in the men’s below 84-kilogramme (kg) Kumite event while the two silver medals came courtesy of Lovelly Anne Robberth (women’s individual Kata) and the trio of Lovelly, Naccy Nelly Evvaferra Rojin and Niathalia Sherawinnie Yampil (women’s Kata team).
Meanwhile, Hannah said the Malaysian chef de mission to the Hangzhou Asiad, Datuk Chong Kim Fatt was right when he stated yesterday that a bigger allocation was needed to drive the national sports industry to the highest level.
As such, Hannah said she would present the overall performance of the national athletes in Hangzhou at the Cabinet meeting ahead of the tabling of Budget 2024 on Friday (October 13) for the consideration of the Ministry of Finance in providing the required allocation to develop the country’s sports industry.
The national contingent to the Hangzhou Asiad surpassed the 27-medal target by returning home with 32 medals — six golds, eight silvers and 18 bronzes. — Bernama
