Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin believes that the national sailors have a bright future ahead, even targeting a podium finish for them in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Speaking at the countdown of 2015 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, Khairy voiced out his appreciation towards the athletes, who he thinks are capable of performing better based on their performances at the Asian and SEA Games.
The young sailors have been impressive over the past two years, winning one gold and two silver medals in last year’s Asian Games in South Korea.
And the national side stunned the world when they took home seven gold medals, five silvers and two bronzes at the Singapore SEA Games earlier in June.
“These young athletes have to prove that they can make it big at international and world events, and the ISAF World Championship comes at a right time for them to showcase their talent after the SEA Games,” Khairy told Harian Metro.
A total of 446 sailors from 80 countries will be competing in the 44th edition of the tournament, with 14 of Malaysians taking part in nine events. The aim is to better the 2014 achievement, where they took home a silver medal from Portugal.
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