Will Malaysia Strike Gold At Rio 2016 Olympics?

Malaysia first marched into the Olympic Games in 1964 and the nation has competed in every Summer Olympics since then, save for 1980 Moscow games when it showed solidarity with the US-led boycott of it. Previously as Federation of Malaya, Malaya made appearances at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Summer Olympics. It has been a long journey to nabbing a first Olympic medal for the country but as they say, perseverance pays and so, slowly but surely, Malaysian sportspersons have worked to turn the tally tides around at the Olympic Games.

Here’s a timeline of Malaysian medals at the Olympics.

Barcelona 1992 - Badminton

An Olympic medal proved elusive for Malaysia until 1992 when brothers Jalani and Razif Sidek brought back bronze in the badminton men’s doubles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. This win was particularly poignant as it synchronized with badminton’s debut as an Olympic sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Atlanta 1996 – Badminton

Malaysia’s most famous badminton family would field another Olympic winner with Rashid Sidek, who also took home bronze for men’s badminton singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Our national medal tally didn’t just end there, but Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock brought glory to the nation with a silver for badminton in the men’s doubles category at Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

Beijing 2008 – Badminton

From 1996 to 2008, a medal drought hung over Malaysia as far as the Olympics was concerned. It took Lee Chong Wei’s silver placing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to break the dry spell.

London 2012 – Badminton & Diving

A celebrated national sports hero by then, Lee Chong Wei extended his winning streak at London 2012 Olympics with yet another silver medal. He was narrowly defeated by top-seeded Lin Dan of China in a scenario that repeated the pair’s tussle for gold during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. However, London 2012 proved a joyous time for Malaysian sports as the nation celebrated its very first female Olympic medallist. Sarawakian lass Pandelela Rinong, a dark house in diving, surprised and delighted the nation with her bronze in 10m platform.

Rio de Janeiro 2016 – Diving (so far)

On 10 August 2016, Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong have done Malaysia proud with a haul of silver for women’s synchronized 10m platform, being the nation’s first Olympic medal at Rio 2016. In the latest update by The News Straits, the duo will share the National Sports Council’s RM600,000 cash incentive and a monthly pension of RM3,000 starting immediately following their success at the Rio Olympic Games.

With bated breath, we wait to see what’s next for Malaysian athletes at Rio 2016?

Keep watch on the upcoming schedule for Malaysian Olympic participants at the Rio 2016 games.

Day 5 – Shooting (Men’s 50m pistol qualification), Archery (Men’s individual Round of 64), Sailing (Men’s laser dinghy Preliminaries Race 5 and 6, Women’s laser radial dinghy Preliminaries Race 5 and 6) Day 6 – Golf (Men’s individual Round 1), Badminton (Men’s singles Group A, Women’s doubles Group C, Men’s doubles Group B, Mixed doubles Group C) Day 7 – Golf (Men’s individual Round 2), Badminton (Men’s doubles Group B, Women’s doubles Group C, Mixed doubles Group C), Swimming (Men’s 1500m freestyle) Day 8 – Badminton (Women’s singles Group K, Women’s doubles Group C, Men’s doubles Group B, Mixed doubles Group C) Day 9 – Badminton (Women’s singles Group K, Men’s singles Group A)

For the complete schedule of Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, CLICK HERE.