KUALA LUMPUR: The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) applauded the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board to support the inclusion of five new sports to be contested at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (LA28).
OCM President Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said OCM has plenty of reasons to be pleased with the inclusion of the five sports especially squash as the sport has been a consistent medal contributor to the Malaysian contingent in various multi-sport Games.
“We will be banking on the boost provided by Olympic participation to spur the growth of squash. The challenge is to make squash a permanent fixture in future Olympic Games,” he said in a statement today.
Apart from squash, the other four sports to be featured in LA28 are flag football, baseball/softball, cricket (T20) and lacrosse (sixes).
Among the five sports, squash and flag football are the only two new sports to be included in the Olympic Sports Programme.
In the meantime, Mohamad Norza said the Baseball Federation of Malaysia (BFM), the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA), the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) and the Softball Association of Malaysia (SAM) have been actively promoting the development of their respective sports in the country and have been affiliated with the OCM for decades.
Meanwhile, SRAM Coaching Director Major (rtd) S. Maniam said the inclusion of squash at the LA28 marked a significant step towards elevating the sport to a higher level.
“Now we need to prepare thoroughly and effectively so that the World Squash Federation (WSF) can organise a successful event at the Olympic Games, while also drawing the attention of other countries to continue showing interest in including squash in future editions of the Olympics, such as in Australia,” he said.
Maniam said SRAM will now prepare a long-term programme to gear up for the LA28 while hoping that the national squash players will also be incorporated into the ‘Road to Gold’ (RTG) programme to aid in their preparation for the event.
He said the governing body already had long-term plans for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, thus will do the same for the Olympics in preparing their lineup so that they would not only participate but also achieve success.-Bernama
