KUALA LUMPUR: Whether in Paris or Los Angeles, Malaysian athletes must win the nation's first gold medal at the Olympics to justify the millions that the government has spent in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, says the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
OCM secretary general Datuk Nazifuddin Najib said he was not surprised by the announcement of a one-gold target for the Paris Games (Jul 26 to Aug 11) by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh announced last week.
"Well the one-gold target is to justify having the RTG programme," said Nazifuddin today.
"We also have the government investing for gold so, by hook or by crook, we have to strive towards this (winning gold).
"But to be fair, the programme is not just aimed at Paris. We are also working towards Los Angeles 2028. which we are already preparing for, and further down the road, in Brisbane 2032.
"So the target is as expected but whether we can achieve it or not (in Paris) depends on the athletes and how they perform on the day of the competition."
RTG is an elite athlete preparation programme intended to provide cream-of-the-crop athletes the additional support they need to challenge for gold in Paris, LA2028 and other major international competitions.
In addition to extra sport science support, competition exposure and coaching, athletes under the RTG programme also receive an additional allowance of RM3,000 a month.
The government had allocated RM5 million to the RTG programme last year and RM20 million for this year.
There are currently 10 athletes listed under the programme, all of whom will be competing in Paris.
They are shuttlers Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan, M. Thinaah, Chen Tang Jie, Toh Ee Wei, track cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Shah Firdaus Sahrom, diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises and weightlifter Aniq Kasdan.
Initially, there were 15 athletes named when the programme was launched last year. Some of them have been dropped due to underperformance while others have been added after showing promising results.
Meanwhile, Nazifuddin added that national athletes, coaches and team officials have been asked to avoid being in public places during the Paris Olympics as a safety precaution.
France has suffered from political unrest in recent weeks which has led to demonstrations across the country.
"We do not want the athletes or officials who are involved with the athletes to be in public places during the games. This is just a security precaution due to the political issues and any other possible issues."
Nazifuddin was speaking after attending the Milo sponsorship presentation with OCM in Kuala Lumpur today. Milo is an official partner of the Malaysian contingent that will compete in Paris.