After years of intensive planning and preparation, the organisers are set to host the Paris Games in full force to welcome about 10,500 athletes.

For the first time ever, the opening ceremony will not be held in a traditional closed stadium but on the River Seine, with athletes parading in boats.

For Malaysia, the big question is whether the national contingent of 26 athletes, the majority of whom (61.5%) are debutants, can clinch an elusive Olympic gold by the closing ceremony on Aug 11.

Malaysia has won a total of eight silver and five bronze medals in the Olympic Games, with badminton contributing the lion’s share of six silver and three bronze.

On paper, track cycling and badminton seem to be the best bets for the maiden gold medal, which has eluded the country since its debut as Malaya 68 years ago at the 1956 Melbourne Games.

In the badminton competition set to be held at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena from July 27 to Aug 5, the men’s doubles pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and independent men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia are the best bets for medals. Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei could be a surprise package in the mixed doubles podium.

Having emerged as Malaysia’s first world badminton champions in 2022 and securing a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Aaron-Wooi Yik seem capable of another strong showing.

The world no. 5 pair must first secure a top-two finish in Group A against China’s world no. 1 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Great Britain) and Adam Dong-Nyl Yakura (Canada) to advance to the quarter-finals and stay in contention for a medal.

In their debut at the Tokyo Games, Aaron-Wooi Yik stunned Indonesians Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (top seeds) in the quarter-finals and later former world champions Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (second seeds) in the bronze play-off, after losing to Li Jun Hui-Liu Yu Chen of China in the semi-finals.

The men’s doubles event has been a “lucky charm” for Malaysia, opening the country’s Olympics medal account via siblings Razif Sidek-Jalani Sidek’s bronze when badminton was first contested at the Barcelona 1992 edition.

Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock won the country’s first silver at the Atlanta Games in 1996, with Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong repeating the silver feat at Rio 2016.

For world no. 7 Zii Jia, who performed well in the run-up to the Olympics by winning the Thailand and Australian Open titles, it is time for him to redeem his status as the nation’s top shuttler after inconsistent outings over the years.

However, BWF World Tour results are not indicative of shuttlers’ true capacity as many will peak at the Olympics while trying to avoid injuries in the run-up to the world’s biggest sporting event. Zii Jia was eliminated by China’s Chen Long in the last-16 stage at Tokyo 2020.

Zii Jia, the 2021 All England champion, is expected to ease through Group G against Spain’s Pablo Abian and Viren Nettasinghe from Sri Lanka, but a real test awaits in the last-16 stage against Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

The 26-year-old is then expected to rub shoulders with the likes of Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals, China’s world no. 1 Shi Yu Qi in the semi-finals, and possibly reigning champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the gold-medal showdown.

Debutants Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who are in Group D with second seeds from China, Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai of the US, and Singapore’s Terry Hee Yong Kai-Jessica Tan Wei Han, will be banking on their coach Nova Widianto’s experience in the mixed doubles. Widianto won a Beijing 2008 Olympic silver and two world championships.

Meanwhile, the women’s doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M Thinaah will have an uphill task from the beginning against top seeds and Tokyo silver medallists Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China, Japan’s world no. 6 Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara, and world no. 9 Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti of Indonesia in Group A.

Azizulhasni Awang, the 2017 world champion in keirin, is among the hopefuls for a historic gold in his fifth and last Olympic outing from Aug 5 to 11 at the National Velodrome in St Quentin-en-Yvelines, approximately 40km from Paris.

After his debut in the 2008 Beijing Games, “The Pocket Rocketman” became the first Malaysian to win a medal in Olympic track cycling, securing a keirin bronze in Rio 2016.

The 36-year-old almost tasted gold in the Covid-19 pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, but a tactical miscalculation allowed Jason Kenny to launch a solo breakaway from the main group when Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer didn’t attempt to chase the Great Britain rider, leaving the Malaysian to settle for silver

Besides needing to be in top shape, Azizulhasni must be wary of his opponents’ tactics and his health condition after undergoing open heart surgery in April 2022 due to a rare heart problem known as the anomalous aortic origin of a right coronary artery.

Hopes are also high for Shah Firdaus Sahrom to step out of Azizulhasni’s shadow and become a dark horse for a podium spot, while debutant Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri is expected to gain experience and become a medal contender in the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Based on their performances over the past two years, Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands, who won 13 gold medals at the World Championships, Matthew Richardson (Australia), Nicolas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago), Kevin Quintero (Colombia) and Ota Kaiya and Shinji Nakano (Japan) are among the main contenders for the podium in the sprint and keirin events at Paris 2024.

The national archery trio led by 19-year-old Ariana Nur Dania Zairi, Nurul Azreena Fazil and Syaqiera Mashayikh, who are set for the individual ranking round today, must stay fully focused and calm against powerhouses like South Korea, China and Mexico to hit their new personal bests.

The diving squad, which contributed a women’s 10m platform bronze through Pandelela Rinong in London 2012 and a silver in the platform synchronised event via Pandelela-Cheong Jun Hoong in Rio 2016, might return home without medals, as was the case with the Tokyo Games.

Nur Dhabitah Sabri, who finished fourth in the women’s 3m springboard in the previous edition, could mount a challenge for a medal.

Meanwhile, shooter Johnathan Wong (men’s 10m air pistol) and weightlifter Aniq Kasdan (men’s 61kg) also have a chance to create history by emerging as the first Malaysians to win medals in their respective events, while sprinter Azeem Fahmi will attempt to dip below 10 seconds by renewing his national record of 10.09s in the highly competitive men’s 100m.

Other Malaysians who will see action include Goh Jin Wei (women’s singles), cyclist Nur Aisyah Zubir (road race), golfers Gavin Kyle Green and Ashley Lau, sailors Khairulnizam Affendy (ILCA 7 single-handed dinghy) and Nur Shazrin Latif (ILCA 6 single-handed dinghy), as well as swimmers Khiew Hoe Yan (men’s 400m freestyle) and Tan Ruoxin (women’s 100m breaststroke).