Asian Games offer tough test as Malaysia chase six gold medals

KUALA LUMPUR: The national contingent heads into the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games buoyed by a successful outing at last month's Glasgow Commonwealth Games but they will be facing much tougher opposition in a number of sports at the Asiad which begins on Saturday.

A six gold, seven silver and 20 bronze target has been set for the contingent, which is similar to what Malaysia achieved at the Hangzhou Games (6-8-18).

The 352-strong contingent, led by chef-de-mission Datuk Sumali Reduan, will be eying top honours in sports it has traditionally been strong in such as badminton, track cycling, squash, karate, sailing and for the first time in decades, sepak takraw.

In badminton, Malaysia's best bet for medals will likely be in the men's doubles events through Aaron Chia-Tee Kai Wun and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.

Publicly, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) have set a one silver and one bronze target for the games though it is understood that they have told their players to go for gold.

Malaysia has not won a badminton gold at the Games since Doha 2006, when the then-new pairing of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong delivered a surprise victory.

The squash squad were the heroes for Malaysia in Hangzhou, winning three gold - half of the contingent's total haul.

The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) have set a three-gold target for Nagoya, with defending champions Ng Eain Yow (men's singles) and S. Sivasangari expected to retain their titles.

It will, however, be a tough test for both players. Eain Yow is expected to face the likes of Pakistan's Noor Zaman and India's Abhay Singh in the business end of the tournament.

Sivasangari will have to navigate a draw which features Hong Kong's Chan Sin Yuk and home favourite Satomi Watanabe.

There is a lot on the table as winners in Nagoya will also be rewarded with direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA 2028).

Malaysia will also be the defending champions in the women's team event.

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In track cycling, all eyes will be on former world keirin champion Azizulhasni Awang.

Despite his advancing years, the 38-year-old has been in arguably the form of his life this season after winning two UCI World Cup keirin gold medals as well as keirin gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, a title which has long eluded him.

Japan's world No. 4 Ota Kaiya will likely be his main rival at the Izu Velodrome.

Azizulhasni's teammate Shah Firdaus Sahrom, who lost significant muscle mass after a knee operation late last year, has shown signs of regaining his past form and should also be a podium contender in the keirin.

On the women's side, Izzah Izzati Asri will be Malaysia's best bet for a medal in a tough field which includes two-time keirin world champion Mina Sato (Japan) as well as China's Yuan Liying.

The national men's hockey squad will be out for redemption following some disappointing performances of late and there will be much at stake in Japan with the winners of both the men's and women's categories set to receive automatic qualification for LA 2028.

The Malaysian hockey squad have been set a target of reaching the men's final in Japan while the women's will be aiming for a top-four finish.

In Judo, the focus will be on Amir Daniel Abdul Majeed who created history by winning Malaysia's first Commonwealth Games gold in the sport in Glasgow last month.

Amir, who will be Malaysia's sole representative in Judo at the Asian Games, will, however, face much tougher opposition in Nagoya.

Podium finish or not, the competition will serve as an important tournament to collect ranking points in his mission to qualify for Los Angeles 2028.

In weightlifting, former world championship medallist Aniq Kasdan (under-60kg) will be sitting out the Asian Games to focus on the China World Championships next month, which also serves as an Olympic qualifier.

Aznil Bidin (under-65kg) will also be focusing on the world meet thus only Erry Hidayat (under-79kg) and Syahmi Nor Ghazali (under-94kg), who both won their first Commonwealth Games gold medals last month, will be competing for Malaysia in Japan.

They will, however, be facing much stiffer opposition at the Asian Games.

Sepak takraw will be an interesting sport to follow as for the first time in decades, Malaysia will be the favourites to win the prestigious inter-regu gold through Azlan Alias, Syahir Rosdi and Farhan Adam.

The trio have been in the form of their lives over the past two seasons and have beaten traditional heavyweights Thailand in almost every major final since 2024. Injuries suffered by Azlan and Syahir earlier this year are, however, a point of concern should they recur.

In track and field, the focus will be on Azeem Fahmi, 22, who claimed a surprise bronze in the 100m event in Hangzhou as a teenager.

Azeem is more mature now having studied and competed in the United States in recent seasons. He is in good form this season having won the 100m Asian Under-23 Championships gold medal in July.

Other sports which have been earmarked as potential medallists for Malaysia include archery, shooting, athletics, sailing, karate, wushu and esports.

The National Sports Council (NSC) has laid out contingency measures should the contingent face any issues with accommodation, transport or meals in Nagoya.

This is the second multi-sport games in a row that the Youth and Sports Ministry has brought back the specific gold medal target, in place of the ambiguous 'colourless' medal target implemented during Hannah Yeoh's term as Youth and Sports Minister.

Achieving the six-gold target in Japan should not be a major issue for the contingent and will also serve as an important benchmark to gauge Malaysia's performance levels ahead of LA2028.