Paris Olympics: 'Beautiful attire means nothing if we don't win gold'

A beautifully designed jersey for Malaysia’s contingent to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will hold no significance if they fail to achieve the nation’s first gold medal in Paris.

Chef de Mission Hamidin Mohd Amin said the main theme of the official attire, including the use of gold instead of the previous orange, aims to evoke the relentless pursuit of medals for the nation at the prestigious global sporting event.

“We have agreed with Yonex (the official attire manufacturer) to showcase the colour gold. The orange colour has been around since 2004, and many athletes have before this have requested the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to change to another colour.

“OCM has agreed with Yonex to change to gold because we are aiming for gold, which is the actual theme. Yonex also believes that the gold hue complements the black.

“However, even if the colour is beautiful but we do not get gold or medals, it is of no use,” he said to reporters after observing the training session of professional women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei in Kuala Lumpur today.

He also clarified that the use of the Malaysian flag on the left part of the official attire, which netizens have questioned, actually represents the official OCM logo.

“The colours of orange, gold and blue are all acceptable. This is the OCM logo, not the Malaysian flag, so there is no issue,” he said.

Hamidin, who is also OCM deputy president, said the majority of the country’s athletes who will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have agreed with the design of the national contingent’s official attire.

Support national contingent

With less than a month remaining before the official opening of Paris 2024 on July 26, Hamidin advised everyone, including the public, to continue to provide strong support to the national contingent for this Olympic Games.

Acknowledging criticisms on social media regarding the design of the official attire, he said OCM may open opportunities for the public to contribute their designs for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

“I have contacted OCM president Mohamad Norza Zakaria and he has essentially agreed that next time we will open up to fans for designing the contingent’s official attire for the next cycle, and we may even provide incentives,” he said.

Hamidin further admitted the mistake of using mannequins to showcase the national contingent’s official attire for the 2024 Olympic Games, consisting of collared shirts, T-shirts, and jackets introduced during the Olympic Day celebration at a shopping centre in the capital city last Sunday.

Recently, sports enthusiasts on social media have expressed dissatisfaction with the design, claiming it to be somewhat outdated and lacking inspiration compared to the previous national contingent’s official attire.

- Bernama

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