Malaysia must use 2027 Budget to build Olympic champions

KUALA LUMPUR: The RM730 million allocation for sports under the 2027 Budget is a welcome boost, but how much of it will help Malaysia produce their first Olympic champion?

A closer look at the breakdown suggests that much of the immediate focus will be on hosting the SEA Games and Asean Para Games next year, with Malaysia expected to make a strong push for the overall title.

Winning the SEA Games and producing an Olympic champion are two different objectives.

Let's be frank.

Malaysia are expected to finish top of the SEA Games medal table next year.

But will that bring the country any closer to their first Olympic gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Games?

Of the total allocation, RM460 million is for national sports development, RM240 million to host the SEA Games and Asean Para Games, and RM30 million for the sports matching grant.

According to the National Sports Council, the RM460 million will support high-performance initiatives, the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, para and deaf athletes, as well as the maintenance of sports facilities nationwide.

The sports allocation is substantial, but winning the SEA Games should not be the main goal.

Malaysia must invest in producing Olympic champions.

With Malaysia hosting the SEA Games next year, featuring 43 sports, the temptation to measure success by the final medal table will be difficult to resist.

Winning the overall title would provide a feel-good factor and give Malaysian athletes and fans plenty to celebrate. Yet it would mean little if the country continued to struggle to produce champions capable of winning at the Olympics.

The SEA Games have their limitations as a measure of a nation's strength in sports.

Host countries have considerable influence over the programme, choosing sports and events that can improve their medal prospects.

While some sports are essential to the regional competition, hosts can also introduce "unusual sports" that offer opportunities to collect gold medals without necessarily advancing their long-term ambitions in Olympic disciplines.

Cambodia provided an example at the 2023 SEA Games when the then-hosts included their traditional martial art, Kun Bokator, in the programme. The hosts won eight gold medals in the sport.

Other editions have featured sports such as fin swimming, underwater hockey and shuttlecock kicking, adding to the medal count but offering limited value to the competing countries' Olympic ambitions.

There is nothing wrong with promoting traditional or non-Olympic sports. They offer athletes opportunities to take on regional rivals and help preserve friendships in sports.

It becomes a problem when collecting medals takes priority instead of developing athletes capable of competing at the highest level.

The SEA Games can be a valuable stepping stone for up-and-coming athletes, while established ones can use them to maintain fitness and boost their ego.

But the overall standings should never be treated as the main measure of a country's strength or Olympic readiness.

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The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are less than two years away, yet identifying and preparing genuine gold-medal prospects remains a challenge.

The RTG is a step in the right direction, but Malaysia must also invest in the next generation of athletes.

What happens when the current generation retires?

The national sports associations (NSAs) cannot keep relying on the same group of elite athletes to deliver results.

Athletes are not robots that can keep producing medals.

A strong sporting system needs a steady supply of quality replacements, with talented youngsters identified early and given the coaching, facilities, sports science and international exposure required to develop.

Too often, attention and resources are given to elite athletes, while the next generation are given limited opportunities to find a clear road to the top.

Malaysia must also be realistic about their Olympic ambitions.

Winning an Olympic gold medal at LA 2028 would be historic, but Malaysia cannot build their strategy around a handful of established names and hope for the best.

The government and NSAs must identify promising athletes early, assess their potential honestly and give them sustained support rather than scrambling for replacements when established stars begin to fade.

The 2027 Budget should be judged not only by Malaysia's SEA Games medal haul, but also by whether it creates a pipeline of athletes capable of challenging the world's best.

Field elite athletes if it serves their preparations, but give promising youngsters opportunities, too.

Some may not win gold next year, but they could become Asian Games medallists and Olympic champions of the future.

Next year's SEA Games, like the previous editions, will see lopsided encounters.

Just imagine Asian Games champions S. Sivasangari and Ng Eain Yow competing for squash gold at next year's SEA Games. Both could wear a pirate's eye patch and still walk away with gold medals.

Malaysia can celebrate being SEA Games champions, and there is nothing wrong with taking pride at home.

But a public holiday and a place at the top of the SEA Games medal table will not automatically make the country a sporting powerhouse.

A country can win more than 100 gold medals at the SEA Games and still struggle to produce Olympic champions.

Malaysia are one fine example.

Malaysia won 111 gold medals when they hosted the SEA Games in 2001. And in 2017, Malaysia took a record of 145 golds as hosts.

Definitely great achievements, but we can label them as "syok sendiri", considering those feats failed to boost Malaysia chances of winning an Olympic title.

That is why Malaysia must take their cue from United States swimmer Michael Phelps, who won 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold, more Olympic gold medals than most countries have won in total.

Phelps has spoken about the sacrifices required to become the best: "If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren't willing to do."

They are part of a career built on competing against the best in the world, not simply dominating a regional field.

But Malaysia's dream appears to be winning the SEA Games overall title next year while losing sight of their Olympic objective.

That is the test of 2027 Budget.

Whether it helps Malaysia chase more medals at home or build a sporting system capable of producing Olympic champions.