RTG Mulls New Sports In Hunt For First Olympic Gold

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) -- The Road to Gold (RTG) programme will explore new sports that have the potential to deliver Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal, said Youth and Sports Minister Mohammed Taufiq Johari.

He said the approach will be discussed at the RTG meeting on May 19, following the need to view the country’s sporting landscape more broadly rather than focusing only on selected sports.

“We need to look at the sporting landscape more broadly; we should not be confined to the same sports.

“We want to open a wider chapter for Malaysian sports because the original purpose and objective of RTG is to secure the first gold medal,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for a RM25 million five-year sponsorship deal between the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad here today.

He said the outcomes of the RTG meeting, including the programme’s action plan, will be announced to the media after the meeting concludes.

Dr Mohammed Taufiq said among the matters to be discussed are budget allocation and ways to align programme implementation with the available budget.

Currently, only four sports are under the RTG programme, namely badminton, track cycling, weightlifting and squash.

Badminton has the largest pool of athletes with 13 players, followed by track cycling with two athletes, while weightlifting and squash each have one representative.

Meanwhile, MHC president Subahan Kamal said the governing body is realistic about the chances of hockey being included in the RTG programme.

“To be honest, I think this is not our call; it is up to the ministry and the government. We understand RTG is about the effort to win the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

“At the moment, it is quite difficult for hockey to win Olympic gold, so even with this kind of support, it is already good enough. We take it step by step and do not push to be in RTG,” he said.

-- BERNAMA