Youth and sports minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin has said that there will no medal targets for the Asian Winter Games, after flagging off the Malaysian contingent that will make their way to Japan.
The Asian Winter Games will be happening at the mountainous region of northern Japan, Sapporo, from the 19th of February until 26th of February.
Malaysia is sending a total of 35 athletes for the Asian Winter Games, and they will be competing in the ice hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating, and alpine skating events.
“These three events are under the Kita Juara programme and it’s also part of the preparation for the SEA Games in which we are targeting gold medals,” Khairy said.
“Even though we are a tropical country and there are no medal targets for the Asian Winter Games, I want these athletes to go to Sapporo and perform their best. It is not a holiday for them.”
Since ice hockey, figure skating and short track speed skating will be included in the KL SEA Games, Khairy hopes that the athletes will use the Asian Winter Games as an opportunity to brush up their skills and improve their competency.
Apart from that, participating in the Asian Winter Games will also give room for our budding alpine skiing athletes, Jeffrey Webb and Othman Mirzan to target the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sapporo is Japan’s fifth largest city, famous for it’s scenic view, skiing, and the annual Sapporo Snow Festival.
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