Speaking to reporters in a special interview, Reezal maintained that he wanted to be modest about expectations for medals at this year’s Tokyo Olympics, noting the difficulties our athletes have faced.
He said it was a challenge for them to get accustomed to the training regime that was camp-based in a “sports bubble” due to Covid-19, which meant not seeing their families even on weekends.
He added that the pandemic also meant that they could not participate in overseas competitions that would usually boost their competitiveness going into the Games, saying these factors had an effect on athletes’ performance.
“When I became minister, I was told that in measuring success, in winning gold medals, don’t look at the 2020 Olympics. Look at two cycles of Olympics, which means 2024 in Paris, too.
“But I think we still have a shot,” he said, beaming with confidence. “We have (track cyclist) Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, who has been fully unleashed now. If you take a look at his mindset now, he is challenging himself.
“He dares to tell me, ‘Datuk Seri, I want to bring gold this time.’ And in 2019 and 2020, whenever he was allowed to join competitions, out of 20 competitions, he was on the podium for 14.
“And his last achievement in Australia, in the recent Australian Championships, shows that he’s performing consistently,” he said, adding that Malaysia also had some dark horses in Tokyo outside the usual favourites in cycling, badminton and diving.
Medals aside, what Reezal wants from the Malaysian contingent is for them to be tenacious at the Games and set their own milestones to attain.
“Of course, the pinnacle of milestones is to win a medal. But it can also be others like breaking their own personal record, the national record, or even joining the world rankings.
“I told (high jumper) Lee Hup Wei that his milestone could be to get to the final, be in the top 12. In order to get into the final, some said he has to break 2.26m. This is possible, considering his personal best in the 2019 Doha World Championships was 2.29m.
“Let us be realistic (about winning medals) but at the same time I want them to chart success and a historical path for themselves.”
Though this might be the last Olympics for some of the veteran athletes, Reezal was confident that the next batch of Malaysia’s sports talents were capable of taking over the mantle and even surpassing their seniors.
He said he was surprisingly impressed during a recent visit to the National Velodrome, where he saw the capability and potential of the backup cyclists training there.
“We even have young athletes like (badminton women’s doubles pair) M Thinaah and Pearly Tan waiting in the wings. The set of backup athletes is ready, they just didn’t qualify for this Games.
“But I’m confident that we have many medal prospects. Gone are the days when we relied on a single person. It used to be just Lee Chong Wei, Lee Chong Wei,” he said.