Hannah open to any constructive criticism
She said she was also prepared to face criticisms regarding the Road To Gold (RTG) programme, which has now been changed to "Road To Bronze."
SHAH ALAM - Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh welcomes the views from various parties to help improve sports in Malaysia.
She said she was also prepared to face criticisms regarding the Road To Gold (RTG) programme, which has now been changed to "Road To Bronze."
She added that sports enthusiasts have the right to express their opinions, but what was important was that the main stakeholders in the programme were the athletes and coaches.
"I accept criticism because everyone has their own platform, such as social media, to voice their opinions. We cannot prevent that.
"However, to make a programme successful, the views and opinions of those directly involved, like coaches and technical directors are more important.
"For example, we have received feedback from coaches like Rexy Mainaky (badminton) and John Beasley (track cycling), as well as our stakeholders in RTG, including coaches and athletes," she said.
Hannah explained that positive feedbacks from all parties must also be taken into account.
This, she said was because some have acknowledged that without RTG, they might not have achieved their best performance after benefiting from the programme.
RTG was launched in March last year, involving two Olympic cycles: Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
In Paris 2024, Malaysia won two bronze medals in badminton, with Aaron Chia-Woh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles and professional singles player Lee Zii Jia.
The performance improvement of several young athletes also needed to be considered.
National weightlifter Aniq Kasdan managed to set a new national record, demonstrating that RTG has had a positive impact on athletes.
Track cyclist Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri who made her Olympic debut also excelled by setting a new national record in the sprint event.
