PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s quest for a historic gold medal begins today after members of the national contingent joined in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics last night, as part of the parade of nations around the River Seine.
The six athletes and four officials, all resplendently clad in shining olive green baju Melayu with golden motifs, were in boat No 45 together with Malawi and Maldives.
Flagbearers Bertrand Rhodict Lises (diving) and Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif (sailing) led the six athletes chosen from the 26 competing in the Games.
The other athletes were Nur Dhabitah Sabri (diving), Khairulnizam Afendy (sailing), Ashley Lau (golf) and Tan Rouxin (swimming).
The four officials were chef de mission Hamidin Amin, his deputy Nicol David, chief medical officer Dr Jasmiza Khuzairi Jasme and safeguarding officer Ang Li Peng.
The Malaysian contingent carries the hope of a nation for its first Olympic gold medal.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was among those who took to social media in support of this mission.
"Let’s give our fullest support and backing to the Malaysian contingent as they pursue the ultimate goal of winning the nation’s first gold medal at the Olympic Games," he said in a Facebook post.
Malaysia have 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.
Badminton is still the best bet for the nation’s maiden gold medal, with cycling also having an outside chance.
In the badminton competition set to be held at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena from today to Aug 5, the men’s doubles pair of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and 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.
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, about 40km from Paris.
