KUALA LUMPUR – National hockey icon Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi believes that the Speedy Tigers still have a chance to be included in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme if they happen to progress and improve their world rankings in the years to come.
For context, RTG is an elite athlete preparation programme developed by the Youth and Sports Ministry with the goal of enabling top-tier athletes to compete for gold at the next two Olympics – this year in Paris and 2028 in Los Angeles – and other major international competitions by providing them with additional support.
Mirnawan, who is also part of the RTG committee, said the committee had been fair to all the athletes currently in the programme and ensured that their presence in the programme was evaluated based on their performances.
“As a former national hockey player myself, of course, I want hockey to be back in RTG, but I will only be able to negotiate with the minister Hannah Yeoh if there is a proven result from the team in years to come.
“The committee has always been fair to all the sports and athletes, and the national hockey team still has time to prove themselves to be relevant in the programme so that it will help the preparations of the athletes in their hopes to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“Currently, the team are ranked 13th in the world, and they need to prove themselves by getting back into the top 10 in the world so that we can plan or even consider bringing them back into the programme.
“However, I can assure that the committee will definitely bring the Speedy Tigers back into the RTG if they happen to fit the criteria, as we will never leave the athletes who prove (themselves) to us with their performances alone,” said Mirnawan when he was met at the C. Paramalingam Legends Trophy at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium today.
Malaysia have been absent from Olympic hockey since the 2000 Sydney Games, and the unsuccessful bid to qualify for Paris this year was traced back to the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, where the team fell short of the targeted gold and finished sixth.
This led to the Speedy Tigers getting the boot from the Road to Gold programme.
The Speedy Tigers are currently 13th in the world rankings, with 1,828.27 points. – March 10, 2024