PETALING JAYA, Sept 10 — Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh expressed hope that Malaysia will not only be able to bring home gold in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28), but also see female athletes returning to the podium.
Yeoh stated that this hope can be placed on female squash players who are seen to have a positive approach under the guidance of the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia.
“When I looked at the list of Malaysian medallists from the Paris Olympics and Paris Paralympics, I could not find a single woman on the list.
“In LA2028, we will not just be in search of a gold medal, but hope to see a female athlete rise to the occasion and be on the podium,” said Yeoh today after officiating the launch of the ACE Malaysia Squash Cup 2024 here today.
Yeoh said squash is one of the rare sports in Malaysia where there are more women in the top 100 of the world rankings than men, and the ministry has already started early preparations for LA2028 in all sports, including squash.
“This is important if we are to win medals, as China have also started to prepare their players for LA2028,” she said, while explaining they have recruited squash legend Datuk Nicol David for the board of the National Sports Institute.
Divers Cheong Jun Hoon-Pandelela Rinong have won silver for Malaysia in the women’s 10m platform synchronised event, while Goh Liu Ying and partner Chan Peng Soon claimed silver in the badminton mixed doubles event at Rio 2016.
However, no Malaysian woman finished on the podium at Tokyo 2020 or Paris 2024.
The Professional Squash Association World Tour Series bronze-level tournament will be held from November 12 to 17 at The Curve, with over 100,000 spectators expected to watch the matches.
Earlier, Yeoh witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ACE Sports & Management, which has partnered with the University of the West England to offer scholarships to young Malaysian professionals.
The partnership spans this year to 2029, with Malaysian athletes required to be in the global top 200 to qualify.
— Bernama
