Despite the fact that only a handful of athletes have qualified for the Rio Olympics so far, Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is confident that the contingent will consist of at least 20 athletes before its commencement in August.
The contingent currently consists of 12 representatives but Khairy predicts that the final list will be boosted by the inclusion of several badminton players as well as golf stars in the form of Danny Chia, Kelly Tan and Michelle Koh.
“So far, only 12 athletes from five different sports that have qualified for the Olympics. There are still a few athletes that have a chance to make the cut through a few more championships till the end of June,” Khairy said as quoted from Utusan.
“Sports like badminton and gold are said to have a brighter chance of qualifying based on the current ranks.”
“I am confident that we will be able to surpass the ’20 athlete’ mark,” he added.
Malaysia has consistently sent at least 20 athletes to the last three editions of the Olympic games.
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