KUALA LUMPUR - A decision on the appeal of the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) to include Mohamad Aniq Kasdan and Muhamad Aznil Bidin in the Road To Gold (RTG) programme will only be known after the committee in charge has met, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Hannah said she could not pre-empt the committee, which she jointly chairs with Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.
"As I have said before, all decisions on athletes joining or leaving (RTG) can only be decided by the committee, which is jointly chaired by the minister and OCM president and has former athletes as members.
"So, let’s wait for the committee meeting to make a decision,” she said when met at the Korea & Malaysia Friendly Sports Programme: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Look East Policy through Sports at Stadium Juara here today.
The RTG Committee is expected to meet after the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games from Sept 23 to Oct 8.
MWF president Datuk Ayub Rahmat has appealed to Hannah to rope Mohamad Aniq and Muhamad Aznil into RTG.
The issue of Mohamad Aniq’s possible inclusion in RTG has cropped up as he is now ranked ninth in the world and meets the criteria to join the programme.
This was after the Johor-born athlete won bronze in the clean & jerk at the world championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a lift of 166 kilogrammes (kg) in the 61kg category last Wednesday.
He recorded 125kg in snatch for a total lift of 291kg, which broke the national record and placed him on the right track for Paris Olympics 2024 qualification.
Only the top 10 athletes in each category will automatically qualify for the Olympics. - BERNAMA