Malaysia at the 2020 Summer Olympics explained

Noc:MAS
Nocname:Olympic Council of Malaysia
Games:Summer Olympics
Year:2020
Website: 
Location:Tokyo, Japan
Competitors:30
Sports:10
Flagbearer Open:Lee Zii Jia[1]
Goh Liu Ying[2] [3]
Flagbearer Close:Pandelela Rinong[4]
Rank:74
Gold:0
Silver:1
Bronze:1
Appearances:auto
See also: (1956)

Malaysia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Since the nation's official debut in 1956 under the name Malaya, Malaysian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for Moscow 1980 in Moscow because of the United States-led boycott.

Background

Administration and preparation

Malaysian former badminton player and three times Olympic Silver medalist, Datuk Lee Chong Wei was appointed on 15 June 2019 as chef de mission of the Malaysian delegation to the Games by Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Dato' Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.[6] However, he chose to skip the event due to his health concerns. He retained his role, albeit serving it virtually.[7] [8] Meanwhile, the national delegation in Tokyo is managed by OCM secretary-general Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib, who is also the deputy chef-de-mission.[9]

As with two previous Olympic cycles, Yonex-Sunrise provides the official kit for Team Malaysia, after it decided to extend its partnership with OCM until end of 2024.[10]

Opening and closing ceremonies

For the opening ceremony, archer Khairul Anuar Mohamad and shuttler Goh Liu Ying were selected to carry the Malaysian flag in the opening ceremony.[11] However, Khairul requested to be dropped as one of the flagbearers, as he had to focus for the archery competition a day after the ceremony. Shuttler Lee Zii Jia was announced to be Khairul's replacement.[12] In the Parade of Nations, the Malaysian delegation was represented by five officials and eight athletes.[13] Both the athletes and the officials participated in the parade wore the Malay legendary warrior Hang Tuah inspired attire designed by the Art and Design Faculty of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Shah Alam (Main Campus). The attire featured chevron geometric pattern in the colours of the national flag, which reflects the clear mission of the Malaysian team to achieve the country’s medal target. The female athletes wore the baju kurung complete with a dokoh (tiered pendant) and selendang (shawl), while the male athletes and officials wore the traditional Baju Melayu complete with the Tengkolok (headgear).[14] [15]

Diver Pandelela Rinong was named as flagbearer for the closing ceremony.

Target and achievement

On 19 July 2021, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican announced that the Malaysian delegation to the 2020 Summer Olympics had a target to win three medals, including a gold medal, with badminton, track cycling and diving being the main contenders of achieving the target.[16] [17]

However, the Malaysian delegation missed the target at the Games, having only won one silver medal through track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang in the Men's keirin event and one bronze medal through Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The result equalled the country's second-best achievement at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.[18] [19]

Broadcasters

See main article: List of 2020 Summer Olympics broadcasters.

NameTypeRef
AstroPay and over-the-top[20]
RTMFree-to-air and over-the-top[21]
Unifi TVPay and over-the top[22]

Competitors

Malaysia managed to qualify 30 athletes competing in 10 sports for the 2020 Summer Olympics, with 13 of them being first time competitors.[23] For the first time, the women (18 athletes or 60%) outnumbered the men (12 athletes/40%) on the Malaysian team competing at these Games.[24]

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.[25]

width=180Sportwidth=55Menwidth=55Womenwidth=55Total
Archery1 1 2
Athletics1 1 2
Badminton4 4 8
Cycling2 0 2
Diving0 5 5
Golf1 1 2
Gymnastics1 1 2
Sailing1 3 4
Shooting0 1 1
Swimming1 1 2
Total 12 18 30

Archery

See main article: article, Archery at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Archery at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Two Malaysian archers Khairul Anuar Mohamad and Syaqiera Mashayikh qualified for the men's and women's individual and automatically to the mixed event, the men's individual recurve reached the quarterfinal stage and obtained one of the four available spots at the 2019 World Archery Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.[26] The women's individual recurve obtain a quota place assigned by world ranking.[27]

Malaysia was absent from the men's archery team event for the first time since the 2008 Games, after failing to secure one of the last three spots to the Games offered in the 2021 Archery Final Olympic Qualification Tournament (FQT) in Paris, France, leaving Khairul as the nation's sole male representative.[28] Khairul ended the ranking round of the men’s individual recurve event in 20th spot, shooting 72 arrows to collect 661 points.[29] He then proceeded to the elimination stage and won through the one-arrow shoot-off in the first and second round against Finland’s Antti Vikstrom and China's Wang Dapeng respectively, only to be eliminated in the round of 16 after losing to South Korea's opponent Kim Woojin 0–6.[30] [31]

Syaqiera became the third Malaysian woman archer to feature in the Olympics after Mon Redee Sut Txi in Athens 2004 and Nurul Syafiqah Hashim in London 2012. She was the first Malaysian athlete to take an action at the Games. In the ranking round, she ended the competition in 43rd spot out of 64 archers with 630 points to improve on her previous record of 619 points which she achieved at the final Olympic qualifier in Paris.[32] Syaqiera was eliminated in the first round (Round of 64) after her 4–6 defeat against Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) competitor and eventual silver medalist, Elena Osipova.[33]

The Malaysian duo failed to advance to the first round of the mixed team event, after scoring a combined total of 1,291 points in the ranking round, which placed them as the 19th best pair among 29 competing teams.

AthleteEventRanking roundRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal /
ScoreSeedOpposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Rank
Khairul Anuar MohamadMen's individual66120
W 6–5

W 6–5

L 0–6
Did not advance
Syaqiera MashayikhWomen's individual63043
L 4–6
Did not advance
Khairul Anuar Mohamad
Syaqiera Mashayikh
Mixed team129119Did not advance

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Malaysian athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):.[34] [35]

Track & road events
Field events

Badminton

See main article: Badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Malaysia qualified a total of eight badminton players (four per gender) for the following events based on the BWF Race to Tokyo Rankings: one entry each in the men's and women's singles; and a pair each in the men's, women's, and mixed doubles.[36]

Men
AthleteEventGroup stageEliminationQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal /
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
RankOpposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Rank
Lee Zii JiaSingles
W (21–5, 21–11)

W (21–17, 21–5)
1 Q
L (21–8, 19–21, 5–21)
Did not advance
Aaron Chia
Soh Wooi Yik
Doubles
W (24–22, 21–15)

L (16–21, 19–21)

W (21–15, 21–13)
2 Q
W (21–14, 21–17)

L (22–24, 13–21)

W (17–21, 21–17, 21–14)
Women
AthleteEventGroup StageEliminationQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal /
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
RankOpposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Rank
Soniia Cheah Su YaSingles
W

L (21–19, 18–21, 10–21)
2Did not advance
Chow Mei Kuan
Lee Meng Yean
Doubles
L (14–21, 17–21)

L (21–17, 15–21, 8–21)

W (21–19, 21–16)
3Did not advance
Mixed

Cycling

See main article: article, Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

Track

Following the completion of the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Malaysia entered one rider to compete in the men's sprint and keirin based on his final individual UCI Olympic rankings.

Sprint
AthleteEventQualificationRound 1Repechage 1Round 2Repechage 2Round 3Repechage 3QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
Time
Speed (km/h)
RankOpposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Opposition
Time
Speed (km/h)
Rank
align=left rowspan=2Men's sprint9.626
74.797
17 Q
L


W 10.056
71.599

L

W 10.131
71.069

L


L
Did not advance
9.700
74.227
23 Q
L


W 9.667
74.480

L

W 10.317
69.788

L


L
Did not advance
Keirin
AthleteEvent1st RoundRepechageQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
RankRankRankRankRank
Azizulhasni Awang align=left rowspan=2Men's keirin1 Q2 Q1 Q
Shah Firdaus Sahrom R2 Q6Did not advance

Diving

See main article: article, Diving at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Diving at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Four Malaysian divers, all female, qualified for the following individual spots and synchronized teams at the Games through the 2019 FINA World Championships and 2019 Asian Cup. Additionally, Cheong Jun Hoong qualified to the Olympics after finishing eighteenth in the semifinal round of the women's platform in the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup thereby adding the country's number of divers to five.[37] This was the first time that Malaysia did not have male representatives in diving since its debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, as none of its male divers at least qualified through the World Cup.[38] [39] The national team would eventually return to the men's event for the 2024 edition in Paris.[40]

Three of the five divers reached the final, including London 2012 bronze medalist and Rio 2016 Silver medalist Pandelela Rinong. For the first time since the London 2012 Summer Olympics, none of the divers secure a medal for the country, including Nur Dhabitah Sabri who narrowly missed the podium finish in the Women's 3 m springboard finals.[41]

AthleteEventPreliminarySemifinalFinal
PointsRankPointsRankPointsRank
Nur Dhabitah Sabrialign=left rowspan=2Women's 3 m springboard291.6010 Q312.606 Q326.154
Ng Yan Yee251.9520Did not advance
Cheong Jun Hoongalign=left rowspan=2Women's 10 m platform251.8026Did not advance
Pandelela Rinong284.9018 Q315.757 Q245.8512
Leong Mun Yee
Pandelela Rinong
Women's 10 m synchronized platform277.988

Golf

See main article: Golf at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Golf at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Malaysia entered one male and one female golfer into the Olympic tournament. Rio 2016 Olympian Gavin Green (world no. 286) qualified directly among the top 60 eligible players for the men's event based on the IGF World Rankings of 20 June 2021 while Kelly Tan (world no.154) also qualified directly on 29 June 2021.

AthleteEventRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Total
ScoreScoreScoreScoreScoreParRank
Gavin GreenMen's74727072288+4=57
Kelly TanWomen's73737264282−2=34

Gymnastics

See main article: article, Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification.

Artistic

Malaysia entered two artistic gymnasts into the Olympic competition for the first time since 2004. Farah Ann Abdul Hadi booked a spot in the women's individual all-around and apparatus events, by finishing sixteenth out of the twenty gymnasts eligible for qualification at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.[42] [43] With the cancellation of the 2021 Asian Championships in Hangzhou, China, Jeremiah Loo Phay Xing secured the last of two available places in the men's individual all-around, as the next highest-ranked gymnast vying for qualification from the Asian zone at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.[44] [45]

Men
Women

Sailing

See main article: article, Sailing at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Sailing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Malaysian sailors qualified one boat in each of the following classes through the fleet-associated Worlds, the 2018 Asian Games, and the continental regattas.[46]

AthleteEventRaceNet pointsFinal rank
1 2345678910M*
Khairulnizam AfendyMen's Laser261428181326282320EL19628
Nur Shazrin Mohd LatifWomen's Laser Radial32533143028301615EL19426
Nuraisyah Jamil
Juni Karimah Noor Jamali
Women's 470161817201920201711EL15819
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race

Shooting

See main article: Shooting at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Shooting at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification. Malaysia granted an invitation from ISSF to send London 2012 Olympian Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi in women's rifle shooting to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was fulfilled by June 6, 2021.[47] Nur Suryani competing in the women's 50 m rifle 3 positions failed to advance to that event's final. She scored 1142 in the qualification round, placing her as the 34th best shooter among 37 competitors.[48]

Swimming

See main article: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics - Qualification. Malaysia received a universality invitation from FINA to send two top-ranked swimmers (one per gender) in their respective individual events to the Olympics, based on the FINA Points System of June 28, 2021.[49] [50]

Rio 2016 Olympians Welson Sim and Phee Jinq En failed to advance to the next round of their respective events.[51] However, Phee smashed a Malaysian record of 1:08.40 in the women's 100 m breaststroke, eclipsing a tenth of a second in her record time that she set from the 2019 SEA Games.[52]

AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinal
TimeRankTimeRankTimeRank
align=left rowspan=2Welson SimMen's 200 m freestyle1:49.2432Did not advance
Men's 400 m freestyle3:58.2533Did not advance
align=left rowspan=2Phee Jinq EnWomen's 100 m breaststroke1:08.40 NR29Did not advance
Women's 200 m breaststroke2:32.5731Did not advance

See also

External links

References


Notes and References

  1. News: Zii Jia bawa Jalur Gemilang. Harian Metro. 6 July 2021. 6 July 2021.
  2. News: Khairul and Liu Ying named as flag bearers for Tokyo. 4 May 2021. The Star. 9 May 2021.
  3. News: Pemanah Negara, Khairul Anuar Mohamad lepas tugas pembawa bendera selepas seorang pemanah wanita layak Olimpik . 1 July 2021. Stadium Astro. 1 July 2021.
  4. News: Pandelela picked as flag bearer for closing ceremony. 8 August 2021. The Star. 8 August 2021.
  5. News: Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. 28 March 2020. Olympics. 24 March 2020.
  6. News: OCM confirms Chong Wei as chef de mission for Tokyo Olympics. 16 June 2019. New Straits Times. Bernama. nst.com.my. 15 June 2019.
  7. News: Chong Wei not going to Tokyo Olympics, confirms minister. 6 July 2021. Malay Mail. 5 July 2021.
  8. News: Chong Wei remains as Malaysia chef de mission despite not travelling to Tokyo Olympics. 6 July 2021. Stadium Astro. 6 July 2021.
  9. Web site: Second batch of Malaysian contingent to arrive in Tokyo doing well, free of Covid-19. Malay Mail. 19 July 2021. 2 August 2021.
  10. News: OCM Partners with Yonex-Sunrise for upcoming Olympic cycle. 31 July 2021. Olympic Council of Malaysia. 3 May 2021.
  11. News: 3 May 2021. OCM break with tradition, pick Liu Ying, Khairul Anuar as Tokyo Olympic flag-bearers. The Malaysian Reserve. 20 May 2021.
  12. News: Tan . Ming Wai . Zii Jia to replace Khairul Anuar as male flagbearer from Malaysia in Tokyo Olympics . 7 July 2021 . The Star.
  13. Web site: Japan stages scaled down, yet spectacular Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony. 23 July 2021. Bernama. 13 August 2021.
  14. Web site: Love It Or Hate It, The Malaysian Constituents Stood Out At Friday’s Olympic Opening Ceremony. Maya Suraya. 25 July 2021. The Rakyat Post.
  15. Web site: Olympics opening outfit by UiTM. 26 July 2021. The Star (Malaysia). 31 July 2021.
  16. Web site: Olympics: Malaysia aims for first ever gold medal in Tokyo. Bernama. 19 July 2021. 2 August 2021.
  17. Web site: 2020 Tokyo Olympics medal target a brave, realistic, achievable move. Bernama. 19 July 2021. 2 August 2021.
  18. Web site: 'Very good' verdict from OCM boss on Malaysia's performance. Bernama. New Straits Times. 9 August 2021. 9 August 2021.
  19. Web site: Time to move on from podium project. New Straits Times. Fabian Peter. 10 August 2021. 10 August 2021.
  20. Web site: The best and widest coverage of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 only on Astro. 7 August 2021. 3 June 2021. Astro.
  21. Web site: Tokyo 2020 – RTM. 7 August 2021. tokyo2020.rtm.gov.my.
  22. Web site: Unifi Brings the World's Most Prestigious Sports Competition – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - To All Malaysians For Free. 7 August 2021. Telekom Malaysia. 24 July 2021.
  23. Web site: Olympic Council of Malaysia: 30 athletes make cut for Tokyo Olympics. Bernama. Malay Mail. 2 July 2021. 13 August 2021.
  24. Web site: 60pc of Malaysian athletes to Tokyo Olympics are female. Bernama. Malay Mail. 3 July 2021. 13 August 2021.
  25. Web site: NOC Entries – Team Malaysia . Tokyo 2020 Olympics . Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games . 25 July 2021 . en-us . 4 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210804011316/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games//en/results/all-sports/noc-entries-malaysia.htm . dead .
  26. News: Bangladesh qualifies its first-ever archer to the Olympic Games. World Archery. 14 June 2019. 14 June 2019.
  27. News: Sukan Olimpik Tokyo: Syaqiera Mashayikh terkejut jadi pilihan NAAM. Stadium Astro. 30 June 2021. 30 June 2021.
  28. Web site: Archery team fail to qualify for Tokyo Olympic Games. The Star (Malaysia). 20 June 2021. 5 August 2021. Tan Ming Wai.
  29. Web site: Khairul Anuar sets up first-round date with Finnish archer. Bernama. 23 July 2021. 13 August 2021.
  30. Web site: Tokyo Olympics: Shoot-off sensation Khairul Anuar storms into third round. Bernama. 28 July 2021. 17 August 2021.
  31. Web site: Near-perfect South Korean ends Khairul Anuar's Tokyo mission in round three. Bernama. 31 July 2021. 17 August 2021.
  32. Web site: Tokyo Olympics: Archer Syaqiera off to good start, improves on personal best. Bernama. 23 July 2021. 5 August 2021.
  33. Web site: Archer Syaqiera takes opponent down to the wire before bowing out. Bernama. 27 July 2021. 6 August 2021.
  34. Web site: iaaf.org – Top Lists. IAAF. 8 April 2019.
  35. Web site: IAAF Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020 Entry Standards. IAAF. 8 April 2019. 8 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190408160334/https://cdn.dosb.de/user_upload/Olympische_Spiele/Tokio_2020/internationale_Qualifikationskriterien/IAAF_-_Athletics_20180806.pdf. dead.
  36. Web site: Peter . Fabian . BAM release names of players for Olympics . www.nst.com.my . 10 June 2021 . 9 July 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210610165140/https://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/2021/06/697422/bam-release-names-players-olympics . 10 June 2021.
  37. Web site: Jun Hoong dives into Tokyo Olympics after successful OCM appeal. Stadium Astro. Seng Foo Lee. 26 June 2021. 12 August 2021.
  38. Web site: Jun Hoong out of Tokyo squad. New Straits Times. Kng Zheng Guan. 4 May 2021. 12 August 2021.
  39. Web site: Poor performances by Malaysians in Tokyo. New Straits Times. Kng Zheng Guan. 4 May 2021. 12 August 2021.
  40. Web site: Bertrand first Malaysian to qualify for Paris 2024. Free Malaysia Today. Bernama. 21 July 2023.
  41. Web site: Failure of divers to deliver medals cause for concern. Bernama. 7 August 2021. 28 August 2021.
  42. News: Paul, Rajes. Artistic gymnast Farah Ann qualifies for Tokyo Olympics. The Star. Malaysia. 6 October 2019. 6 October 2019.
  43. News: Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2019: Day 2 – as it happened. Olympic Channel. 5 October 2019. 12 October 2019.
  44. News: Rounding Off: Manrique Larduet says 'No!' to Tokyo Games. IOC. 8 May 2021. 16 May 2021.
  45. News: RNational gymnast Jeremiah Loo to make Olympics debut in Tokyo next month. Malay Mail. 29 June 2021. 29 June 2021.
  46. News: Nahar, Azidan. Zain, Azlan Muhammad. Malaysia sailing towards gold on Friday. New Straits Times. 31 August 2018. 31 August 2018.
  47. Web site: Quota Places by Nation and Number. 15 June 2021. www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 15 June 2021. 28 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210628174326/https://www.issf-sports.org/competitions/ogqualification/quota_places/quota_places_by_nation_and_name.ashx. dead.
  48. Web site: Shooter Nur Suryani's challenge fizzles out in qualifying round. Bernama. 31 July 2021. 4 August 2021.
  49. Web site: Tokyo Olympics Entry Lists Released, Swimming Begins July 24. Swimming World Magazine. 16 July 2021.
  50. Web site: Go for gold, Malaysia. New Straits Times. 3 July 2021. 3 July 2021. Kng Zheng Guan.
  51. News: Jinq En plays her part, Welson disappoints. Kng Zheng Guan. New Straits Times. 30 July 2021. 20 September 2021.
  52. News: Jinq En cracks her national record. New Straits Times. 26 July 2021. Kng Zheng Guan. 20 September 2021.