Yeoh said the new approach used at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games seemed to have been effective in ensuring athletes were under less pressure to deliver.

“Seeing how we did not set any (specific) gold medal target, even the bronze medallists felt there was cause for celebration.

“If the results (of setting overall medal target) are good, we will continue with this practice,” she told a press conference after arriving from Hangzhou at KLIA here today.

Yeoh said every decision made was to ensure the well-being of athletes.

She said the overall medal target strategy was proposed by the Nippon Sports Science University of Japan, which has forged a collaboration with the National Sports Council.

Yeoh said personnel from the Nippon Sports Science University will return to Malaysia next month to review the results in Hangzhou and assist the ministry in drawing up preparations for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The national contingent to the Hangzhou Asiad surpassed the 27-medal target by returning home with 32 medals — six golds, eight silvers and 18 bronzes.