Did you know Malaysia’s Olympic gold medal bonus is ranked 4th highest?
At a whopping RM991,379 for an athlete who brings home a gold medal, a list compiled by Forbes puts Malaysia after Hong Kong, Israel and Serbia.
With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in full swing, 26 Malaysian athletes are competing in events like Badminton, Cycling Track, Athletics, Swimming, Archery, Sailing, Golf, Weightlifting, Diving, and Shooting.
These are talented athletes who have trained and shed their blood and sweat in preparing for the Games.
Badminton Triumphs
Malaysian shuttlers are off to a good start. Women’s pair, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah triumphed over Japan’s two-time world champions, Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, winning 18-21, 21-15, 21-16.
This crucial victory marks their first win in the competitive Group A and keeps their knockout stage hopes alive after an initial loss to Qing Chen and Yi Fan.
JPearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan bounced back with a win in the Group A match in the Women’s Doubles against Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara with a score of 18-21, 21-15, 21-16.#OlympicMAS#parís2024 pic.twitter.com/aOIBwiZAk5
— Olympic Malaysia 🇲🇾🥇 (@olympicmas) July 28, 2024
Adding to the success, men’s pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, along with mixed doubles team Cheng Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, secured early quarterfinal spots, each with a group match to spare.
Aaron Chia OLY/Soh Wooi Yik OLY took 40 minutes to win their second game in Group A of the Men’s Doubles. They defeated Adam Dong and Nyl Yakura from Canada with a score of 21-10, 21-15. #OlympicMAS#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/jqa8miZf8M
— Olympic Malaysia 🇲🇾🥇 (@olympicmas) July 28, 2024
In men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia triumphed in his Group G opener, defeating Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe 21-14, 21-12.
Lee Zii Jia OLY began his Olympic campaign with an easy straight-sets victory against Viren Nettasinghe from Sri Lanka, winning 21-14, 21-12 in the Men’s Single event.#OlympicMAS#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/acuZ07vHbL
— Olympic Malaysia 🇲🇾🥇 (@olympicmas) July 28, 2024
Swimming Setbacks
In swimming, 18-year-old Tan Rouxin’s journey concluded in the women’s 100m breaststroke heats.
Although she finished first in Heat 1 with a time of 1:12.50, it was not enough to advance to the semi-finals, ranking 33rd out of 37.
Similarly, Khiew Hoe Yean finished 27th in the men’s 400m freestyle heats and is out of the competition.
Tan Rouxin in her debut at the Olympic Games finished in Heat 1 of the Women’s 100m Breaststroke in 1st place with a time of 1:12.50. Overall, she was ranked 33rd out of 37 athletes, with only the top 16 swimmers qualifying for the semi-final event.#OlympicMAS#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Gj7iocSp1a
— Olympic Malaysia 🇲🇾🥇 (@olympicmas) July 28, 2024
Archery Challenge
The women’s recurve archery team, featuring Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashayikh, and Nurul Azreena Mohd Fazil, was eliminated in the 1/8 round after a 3-5 loss to Indonesia.
Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashahikh OLY and Nurul Azreena Mohd Fazil lost 3-5 to the Indonesian trio of Diananda Choirunisa, Syifa Nurafifah Kamal and Rezza Octavia in the Women’s Team 1/8 Elimination Round.#OlympicMAS#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/hsxM2NPQ4p
— Olympic Malaysia 🇲🇾🥇 (@olympicmas) July 28, 2024
Ariana, who celebrated her 19th birthday with her family, expressed satisfaction with her improved performance.
“My whole family (parents, older sister, younger brother and younger sister) came here to support me. I managed to celebrate my birthday with a cake and had a meal with my family here.
“I hope this can boost my confidence for the individual event later. Even today, I performed better compared to the individual round the other day,” she said as reported by Bernama.
The team will now focus on individual events, with matches starting on Tuesday.
Coach Lee Jae Hyung noted the need for further improvements despite better performance.
Next, Syaqiera faces Alexandra Mirca from Moldova, while Ariana and Nurul will compete against Italy’s Chiara Rebagliati and Turkey’s Elif Berra Gokkır.
Shooting Exit
National shooter Johnathan Wong lost in the qualifying round of the men’s 10-metre air pistol event.
With the top 8 advancing, Wong who finished 26th is out of the running.
Johnathan Wong Guanjie OLY in action at Chateauroux at the Shooting Men’s 10m Air Pistol Qualification eventtoday . He finished 26 out of 33 shooters competing. Only 8 shooters qualified to the final. #OlympicMAS#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/2m8FRv7ct2
— Olympic Malaysia 🇲🇾🥇 (@olympicmas) July 27, 2024
