KUALA LUMPUR: The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) will do its homework first before announcing the medal target for the national contingent at the Paris Olympics.
Shuttlers Lee Zii Jia, Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik and cyclist Azizulhasni Awang are targeted to win Malaysia's first ever Olympic gold medal in Paris.
However, OCM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria stressed the need for careful consideration in determining the medal target to ensure that Malaysia's athletes at the Paris Olympics don't face undue pressure.
He said the discussions should involve OCM, the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Sports Ministry to align with the Road to Gold programme.
"I haven't had the chance to discuss this matter (medal target) with the minister (Hannah Yeoh) yet. We will certainly discuss the best approach because we do not want the athletes to feel pressured," he said.
"As I always say, every athlete's dream is to qualify for the Olympics. It's the final stage now, and we want to provide them with support," said Norza after a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony between the NSC and national sports associations in Bukit Jalil today.
Norza expects the Malaysian Olympic contingent to consist of 24 or 25 athletes.
"However, we will wait until the end of this month to confirm if there are any additional athletes," he said.