Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh said that through RTG, they would receive extensive performance-related support as they aimed to not only qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (LA28), but also to create history for Malaysia in the US.

“RTG has always supported athletes who fulfil the criteria of the programme, and we hope this additional support will spur them in their pursuit of excellence this year,” she said on Facebook today.

Last week, Yeoh announced that eight badminton players – world No 2 men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and their teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, top national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah, as well as national mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei – had agreed to join the programme.

Other athletes joining the programme are weightlifter Mohd Aniq Kasdan and track cyclists Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, as well as squash player S Sivasangari.

Yeoh also announced that national women’s recurve archery trio Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashayikh and Nurul Azreena Fazil, as well as squash player Ng Eain Yow, had agreed to join the Fast Track RTG programme.

The RTG project, introduced by the youth and sports ministry in April 2023, is a national initiative aimed at coordinating Malaysia’s efforts to win its first gold medal at the Olympic Games, with a focus on the Paris 2024 and LA28 editions.