RIO DE JANEIRO: Chef-de-Mission, Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin Abdul Majid believes Malaysia are on track to claim the elusive gold medal through hopeful Datuk Lee Chong Wei and track cyclist Mohd Azizulhasni Awang.
On the eve of the Rio Olympic Games, he said the duo would be bidding farewell to the world’s biggest show on earth and is convinced that the duo possessed the depth and vast experience to make good their final appearance.
Malaysia should show progress from the silver and bronze medal in the London Olympics 2012 and the 32-athlete here should justify their presence in Rio, he told Malaysian media here today.
Besides badminton star Chong Wei, Azizulhasni and bronze medallist Pandelela Rinong in diving as medal hopefuls, Al Amin did not discount the men’s archery team to be on the podium.
He said coming to Rio early was a wise choice for the contingent as it allowed them to settle down and acclimatise with the weather and the atmosphere in the competition venues.
On other sports, he said athletes making their Olympic debut should seize the opportunity to improve on their personal best and attempt to rewrite the national record in their respective events.
“We don’t want them to be labelled as ‘passenger or tourist’ and they should justify their presence here,” he said.
On Chong Wei, he said the 34-year-old world number one had the best opportunity to end the bridesmaid role to Chinese star, Lin Dan in two previous finals.
Al Amin, who is also Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) acting president, said Chong Wei and the others were happy with the draw which meant that Chong Wei would not likely cross Lin Dan in the semi-finals.
He said he could not foresee the Chinese badminton players’ strength until they troop into the courts in Rio when the sports begin on Aug 11.
The Chinese shuttlers isolated themselves in Sao Paulo for the past 10 days for their final preparation and are only due to arrive in Rio on Aug 7, four days before the opening rounds.
“The national shuttlers are in good shape and feeling the pressure as the games draw closer,” he added.
Al Amin said Lin Dan’s two gold medal feat in the back-to-back Olympics in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 could be under threat by any other shuttler from the preliminary group matches.
He said Lin Dan too was equally worried as he could possibly face fifth seed, Jan Jorgensen of Denmark in the quarter-finals.
“The Chinese shuttlers always find that the European players are not easy meat and Lin Dan is not comfortable with Jorgensen,” he said.
Asked if BAM could produce another ‘Chong Wei’ for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Al Amin said, “Chong Wei is a different breed altogether.”
“We are always preparing our young shuttlers to fill in the gap but it cannot be like Chong Wei,” he said. -- Bernama