KUALA LUMPUR: The bold statement by Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria is to boost the spirits of Malaysia's Paris-bound Olympic athletes, said sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli.
He was referring to Norza's declaration that badminton, cycling, diving, archery and sailing can bring home the elusive gold medal for the country at next month's Paris Games.
Pekan added that the statement was to instil belief, and boost the athletes from the five sports who are in the final phase of preparations for Paris.
"I also believe he (Norza) wants to challenge athletes from other sports to put in their best effort to hunt for gold," Pekan told Timesport today.
"You have to be realistic when talking about chances at the Olympics. If our athletes are down the (world) rankings and are unconvincing on current performance, then it is difficult to see them doing anything positive at the Olympics."
Having said so, Pekan believes that fans can count on badminton and cycling to deliver gold for the country when the Paris Games get underway on July 26.
"Yes, the form of our badminton players is a bit inconsistent, but there are positive signs recently, and I hope that they will peak in Paris.
"We can also pin our hopes on Datuk Azizulhasni Awang in track cycling. He is very experienced, and Paris will be his fifth Olympic Games.
"Even though there are concerns over his health, Azizulhasni has an inner drive to win that few other athletes have,'' said Pekan.
Malaysia will send a total of 21 athletes from eight sports to the Paris Olympics.
They are Ariana Nur Dania Zairi, Nurul Azreena Fazli, Syaqiera Mashayikh from archery; Lee Zii Jia, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Jin Wei, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei from badminton; Nur Aisyah Zubir, Azizulhasni Awang, Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri from cycling; Bertrand Rhodict Lises from diving; Gavin Green from golf; Khairulnizam Afendy and Nur Shazrin Latif from sailing; Johnathan Wong from shooting and Aniq Kasdan from weightlifting.
