PETALING JAYA: National contingent chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Amin remains optimistic that national shuttlers will be able to "do something" at the Paris Olympics from July 26 to Aug 11.
Hamidin said players like Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men's doubles) and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women's doubles) had proven they were capable of beating higher ranked players, but stressed the importance of receiving a good draw.
"I agree with what (BA of Malaysia president) Tan Sri Norza Zakaria has said. The draw we get in Paris will be very important," said Hamidin during a press conference here today.
"Sometimes, the strong teams and players can be drawn against each other in the early rounds and from there we can gauge how the competition will be in most of the categories.
"Regardless, I am still confident our badminton players will be able to do something at the Olympics.
"We are still in position to reach the quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals, so we have to push on.
"Our players such as Aaron-Wooi Yik and Pearly-Thinaah have already shown that they can beat higher ranked players.
"Zii Jia, who reached the final at the Malaysia Masters yesterday, is coming back strong and we hope he will continue to improve in the upcoming tournaments before the Olympics."
Hamidin said he had advised Paris-bound athletes to avoid social media in the run-up to the games.
"I told them that if they are not strong mentally, don't look at social media. Just focus on preparing for Paris.
"We are aware that the public have high expectations on the athletes. This is something they (athletes) have to learn to manage."
Hamidin said injured sailor Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif (wrist) and track cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom (shoulder) were receiving treatment from the National Sports Institute.
Zii Jia, who suffered cramping during the Malaysia Masters, is also being treated by his team.
Hamidin met weightlifter Aniq Kasdan, sailor Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy and cyclist Nur Aisyah Zubir today.
