Hold talks to prevent recurrence of athletes' problems, deputy minister says

Every aspect related to the participation of athletes in major sporting events needs to be discussed well in advance with all relevant stakeholders.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim said this is to ensure issues similar to those faced by shuttlers Lee Zii Jia and Goh Jin Wei at the Paris Olympics do not recur.

“Although the issue has been clarified, the Youth and Sports Ministry still gets the flak. We need to consider the interests of not just all stakeholders, athletes and associations but also the supporters,” he said after attending the “Kembara Jumpa Orang Muda Sarawak 2024” at Universiti Teknologi Sarawak today.

Adam (above) was responding to media reports claiming that men’s singles player Lee was denied the services of a physiotherapist and a sparring partner, while women’s singles ace Goh’s coach, Nova Armada, could not accompany her to Paris.

Local sports fans have voiced their dissatisfaction over Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Norza Zakaria being able to bring his family to the Olympics.

The fans have also blamed Norza for the issues affecting the two players.

Strong support for athletes

Norza has clarified that he has a special quota as OCM president, allowing him to bring guests to the Games without interfering with the allocations stipulated for athletes and officials, as permitted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Adam explained that sports management is a challenging field, where the ministry must not only handle athlete performance but also focus on providing the best sporting facilities to ensure effective sports development.

“At the ministry, we constantly face criticism and pressure from Malaysians and we need to be open to all feedback and take responsibility for improving our practices over time,” he said.

However, he declined to comment on calls for Norza to resign as OCM president.

“We have already made the best efforts but the accreditation cards issued by the IOC are subject to various limitations,” he added, stressing that the priority is to ease the pressure that could distract the national athletes in Paris.

Instead, he emphasised the need to provide strong support for the athletes to continue their efforts for the country.

- Bernama

Olympics: Guest accreditation cards not funded by govt - OCM

Five sports capable of winning gold in Paris - OCM

Norza to step down after Olympics, Subramaniam named acting president

Zii Jia talks about pushing through media humiliation to prove worth

Zii Jia hushes critics, wins second Olympic bronze for M'sia