KUALA LUMPUR — Members of the national contingent contesting at the Asian Games are reminded not to be complacent and must work hard to put the country’s name on the international stage, despite not targeting any gold medals.
Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad said the quadrennial meet, kicking off this Saturday, is not a place to have fun and vacation, instead, the selected Malaysian athletes need to showcase excellent performance.
“National athletes appeared to be quite enthusiastic even though there is no specific medal target, they will not let Malaysians down.
“Some say athletes go on ‘holiday’ every time they go to a tournament, but they have a target every time they represent the country.
“Athletes or sports officials will definitely present medals for the country and they have their own targets,” he said when met at the National Sports Council (NSC) 2022, here today.
Earlier Nur Azmi sent off 89 athletes from swimming, hockey, sepak takraw, e-sports, rugby, shooting, and taekwondo to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to depart for Hangzhou this afternoon.
For the Asian Games, the Malaysian contingent was not given any specific medal target but aimed for 27 medals overall regardless of colour. — September 21, 2023