Asiad 2026 ‘Flop Four’ Needs To Undergo Review After Medal-less Outing - NSC

From Muhammad Afiff Md Adnan

NAGOYA, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- The failure of four sports - athletics, swimming, archery and shooting - to deliver the goods at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has triggered a review of their planning and development systems.

National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Jefri Ngadirin said a joint assessment with the respective associations and coaching teams needed to be carried out to identify weaknesses that had prevented athletes from these four sports from mounting a stronger challenge at the Asiad.

“Athletics, archery, swimming and shooting are actually capable of competing at a higher level. However, we need to reassess the planning with the associations and coaches and identify the necessary measures to ensure they become more competitive,” he told a press conference on the Malaysian contingent’s performance at the Aichi-Nagoya Asiad here today.

Jefri said the ability of athletes to succeed at the SEA Games but failing to replicate that success on the Asiad stage showed that there was still a gap that needed to be addressed comprehensively.

“They managed to win gold medals at the SEA Games level, but have yet to strike gold at the Asian Games.

“So, all support, assistance and planning need to be coordinated with the associations and coaches so that the athletes can reach a higher level,” he said.

He said the disparity in competitive standards was also evident in swimming, with the swimmers needing to strengthen their performance at the Southeast Asian level first before setting their sights on the Asian Games podium.

“For swimming, they need to compete at the SEA Games level first before looking at opportunities to win medals at the Asian Games. They still have a long way to go.

“As for athletics, they failed this time and the coaches and association need to review the planning and address the weaknesses that need to be rectified,” he said.

Jefri said the failure in Aichi-Nagoya should not simply be marked as a medal-less performance, but instead be translated into concrete action ahead of future Games.

“We need to have more discussions with the associations to improve the system. Planning needs to begin now, including aspects of training, association management and coaching, so that they can make better preparations,” he added.

Meanwhile, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary-general Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali said competition exposure, equipment and coaching services need to be given specific attention, especially for archery and shooting.

“If we look at their capabilities, we actually have potential in these two sports. It is just that, perhaps, in terms of equipment, coaches and competition exposure, there is a need for these areas to be improved.

“I found that some athletes do not participate in many competitions in a year, perhaps only two or three times. So, matters such as equipment and competition exposure need to be reviewed,” he said.

Nasir also stressed the importance of association management in ensuring athlete development is carried out systematically, especially for sports that failed to meet their targets.

“What is also important is the management of associations. For sports that have not performed as expected, we need to look at the association’s ability to manage athletes and provide strategic planning. Every association must have short-, medium- and long-term plas,” he added.

Regarding athletics, Nasir said more realistic targets needed to be set to help the sport regain its competitiveness on the Asian stage.

“One of the sports we should look at is athletics. We need to restore the glory of athletics. We are not expecting five or six medals, but at least we should be able to win one or two medals,” he added.

-- BERNAMA