SERDANG: The fate of the athletes listed in the Road To Gold (RTG) programme will be revealed in an evaluation committee meeting this Tuesday
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh who is also co-chairman of the RTG Committee confirmed that the meeting which will decide whether the programme will retain the selected athletes, drop or add more to the list, will take place at the National Sports Council, Bukit Jalil.
“There are various possibilities...so we will wait for the RTG committee meeting next week (Tuesday),“ she said at a press conference after officiating the convocation ceremony of the Youth and Sports Skills Training Institute (ILKBS) at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here today.
Hannah also stressed that the main purpose of RTG is to add value to the existing services enjoyed by athletes who have the potential to win the country’s first gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Among the athletes already listed in the RTG programme are national track cycling champion Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, 2022 world men’s doubles champion Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong.
In the meantime, she said the RTG meeting on Tuesday will also touch on the direction of the country’s squash players as the sport makes its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The RTG project introduced by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) in April is a national project with the aim of coordinating the country’s efforts in hunting for the first gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 editions.
Earlier, KBS had set two main criteria for RTG athletes with the potential to contribute to the country’s first gold at the Olympic Games as medal winners of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and those listed in the top 10 in the world.
Earlier, Hannah presented certificates to 3,611 recipients from ILKBS across the country’s peninsula which involved graduates of certificate, advanced certificate, diploma and advanced diploma levels.
She is also proud that the employability rate of ILKBS graduates, which exceeds 90 per cent for three consecutive years, proves that KBS can produce young skilled workers to fill the country’s skilled and semi-skilled workforce needs.
Hannah also added that KBS will continue to be committed to dignifying the field of Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) to ensure that youth remain competitive and become employers’ top choice. - Bernama
