Malaysia’s Road to Gold committee to discuss athlete needs for Paris 2024

The Road to Gold (RTG) committee is set to convene next week to discuss and evaluate the requirements of Malaysia’s athletes in an effort to secure the nation’s first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, according to Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh. This comes in response to concerns raised by national track cycling star Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang regarding the National Sports Council’s (NSC) inadequate support system in preparation for the Paris Olympics. Yeoh emphasised that the ministry takes the athletes’ requests seriously.

“The RTG committee will meet next week to review each request of the athletes selected for the RTG programme. I have contacted Azizul through our coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam and we will do our best for our athletes to ensure Malaysia’s chances of winning the gold medal are bright,” she said to reporters after launching the Malaysia [email protected] programme at PPR Taman Bagan Jaya.

The Malaysia [email protected] programme is a new initiative by the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) in collaboration with the National Youth and Sports Department (JBSN) and the Local Government Development Ministry (KPKT). It aims to promote a sporting culture among the people, specifically in People’s Housing Programme (PPR) communities and Public Housing Projects (PPA).

Featuring activities such as aerobics and zumba, the programme’s objective is to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle among the community, while also fostering community unity, harmony, and well-being. “For this first phase, this zumba programme will run every Saturday or Sunday for 30 weeks in two selected PPRs involving six states, namely Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah,” Yeoh explained.

“The cost of the trainers will be paid by KBS for 30 weeks, which is until December 2023 with a total participation target of 36,000 people,” she added. The second phase of the programme will include Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, and Sarawak.