KUALA LUMPUR: BAM coaching director Rexy Mainaky feels that the three Olympics-bound pairs have a duty to justify the Road To Gold (RTG) programme's support for them by delivering Malaysia's first ever gold medal.
Mainaky stressed that the RTG backing has been crucial in enhancing the coaching team's programme and optimising preparation.
The six RTG-supported shuttlers who qualified for the Paris Olympics are men's pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, women's pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and mixed pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei.
Rexy has enlisted the services of two former Indonesian national shuttlers – Ade Yusuf and Gerardo Rizqullah Hafidz – to help improve Pearly-Thinaah's speed and strength. The Indonesian coaches will also accompany the pair to their training camp in Paris next week.
Additionally, Aaron-Wooi Yik were given two sparring partners from Taiwan recently. With funding from RTG, BAM has also engaged the services of psychologist Frederick Tan.
"I would like to convey my high appreciation to the RTG for all the support they've given to us. They've been unwaveringly supporting us in all aspects," said Rexy.
"Initially, we asked for four Indonesians to be part of our training camp, and even after that, we asked for Taiwanese players to spar with Aaron-Wooi Yik. All those requests have been granted with ease.
"All we needed to do was just give them a call. We were told that any kind of support which may help us in the quest to win a gold medal, they will support all the way.
"During a meeting with the National Sports Council, we were asked what support we needed, and we told them there's nothing more we needed because the RTG has already given us everything.
"So, the onus is now on our players to focus and deliver the first gold."
The RTG is an elite programme designed to provide top-tier athletes with additional support needed to compete for gold in Paris and other major international competitions. Besides sport science support, competition exposure and coaching, RTG athletes also receive monthly allowance of RM3,000.
In February, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh revealed that badminton was the biggest beneficiary of the programme. Of the total RM3.53 million spent in 2023, RM2.25 million was allocated to badminton alone. Some of this allocation was given to professional shuttlers, who have since been dropped after failing to qualify. However, Lee Zii Jia was never part of the programme, having opted out.