LETTERS: To produce sports champions sports associations must be in the hands of former athletes and coaches with record of success in international competitions.
Too many ineffective and outdated officials are holding key positions.
That is why the leadership of our sports agencies must consist of former athletes and coaches with proven track record.
They should be elected for a specific term by a committee of sports professionals. This is the foundational change from which all programmes will be initiated.
Simultaneously, generating a national grassroots training programme for school children is a priority. Malaysia has more than 10,000 schools, with 5.2 million students.
So the programme should identify, target and nurture young talent for sports like diving, cycling, weight-lifting, archery and badminton.
In the top tier, at the national level, 12,000 to 14,000 students will vie for a place as the nation's best.
After that, they will move to the national squad to compete at the Sea Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
To support sports development, we must generate a plan for business and corporate sponsorship to boost programmes, clinics and training opportunities for young athletes.
We should focus only on sports and athletes who show podium-performance talent.
Stop wasting our investment in wild-card entries that too often face first-round elimination.
We have 16 young athletes on the Paris Olympics squad.
Only those proving themselves in rankings and competition should be selected for the Road to Gold programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
So our focus should be on:
WEIGHTLIFTER Mohamad Aniq Kasdan, who missed a bronze medal by a whisker;
CYCLISTS, Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom;
BADMINTON players, singles and doubles (men, women and mixed doubles);
IN diving, Bertrand Rhodict, and in 3m platform, Nur Dhabitah Sabri; and,
IN archery, Ariana Nur Diana.
By focusing our resources on proven competitors, we increase our chances for gold-medal performances.
We owe the sports stars of tomorrow the best opportunity to reach their potential.
Post-Paris Olympics, let's start by restructuring the national sports system to make those golden dreams become a reality at the Los Angeles Olympics.
C. SATHASIVAM SITHERAVELLU
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times