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By Dina Rizal
Malaysia has poured millions into its Olympic dreams and is still chasing that elusive first gold medal.
The Road to Gold (RTG) programme now targeting the 2028 Olympics represents perhaps our best shot yet.
However, we must acknowledge the political reality: by 2028, a change in leadership could disrupt the momentum. Continuity is uncertain.
While RTG rightly garners attention, we risk missing a deeper, more critical truth – sports is not only about medals.
Overemphasising elite-level athletes without nurturing the pipeline risks short-term gains at the cost of long-term progress.
What about building a sustainable programme called “Rekindling the Sports Culture” at the grassroots level?
What about nurturing a love for sports among the six million students in our schools and universities across Malaysia?
This is where the true foundations of a sporting nation are built, not just champions but values, such as discipline, teamwork, resilience, unity, and patriotism.
Sadly, grassroots sports are in decline. Schools, once vibrant nurseries of talent in the 1950s to 70s, now lack infrastructure, trained sports educators, and allocated time for physical activity.
If we are serious about change, we need 10,000 qualified and passionate sports teachers, functional facilities, and protected time in the curriculum for sports.
Unfortunately, current political and financial priorities do not favour this investment.
Ignoring grassroots risks creating a talent vacuum, leading to an overreliance on a small group of athletes and repeated disappointment when medals remain elusive.
More critically, it deprives youth of the physical, social, and mental health benefits of sports participation.
But all hope is not lost.
Malaysia’s quest for Olympic glory can succeed only if talent development and elite performance go hand in hand.
RTG can integrate with grassroots efforts by establishing clearer pathways from schools, community clubs, and state-level academies to national programmes.
This could include talent identification camps, structured coaching clinics and increased investment in school-based competitions.
Community-led initiatives like Rukun Tetangga, residents’ associations and local sports clubs can step in where schools fall short.
These grassroots bodies, with the right support, accountability, and key performance indicators, could play a pivotal role in reviving sports culture nationwide.
The authorities must work closely with local communities, educators, and private stakeholders to co-create inclusive and sustainable sporting ecosystems.
Providing access to facilities, trained coaches, and scholarships can encourage more young Malaysians to pursue sport seriously.
To make this happen, a high-level task force involving the ministries of youth and sports, education, and national unity must work hand-in-hand.
We need a coordinated, long-term strategy that puts sports back into the lives of our children, not as an afterthought, but as a core part of education and national identity.
Over time, this will do more than build future Olympic contenders. It will create generations of healthier, stronger, united Malaysians, and yes, perhaps even a few diamonds who can bring home gold.
Malaysia’s golden moment will come not just from chasing a medal, but from building a nation where every child has the opportunity to dream, play, and compete.
A robust grassroots system is not a distraction from Olympic goals – it is the very path that leads to them.
Let’s dare to dream big, not just for glory, but for our children.
Ipoh-based Young Talent Track & Field Club provides free training to children to build a love for sport, discipline, teamwork, resilience and unity.
Dina Rizal is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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