PETALING JAYA: National sailor Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy is confident of springing a surprise when he makes his fourth Olympic appearance at Paris 2024 in July.
Khairulnizam, who turned 31 today, believes he is in the best of shape based on his performances in several races this year, in addition to being ranked 18th in the world.
He also expects the training he will undergo in Marseille, France in June to boost his preparations for the quadrennial Games.
“I am in the best of shape and ranked 18th in the world… no other Malaysian sailor has made it to the top 20. Insya-Allah, I will do my best and spring some surprises at the Olympics.
“That’s because from the race series this year, I’ve finished first, third and fourth in several competitions, so I can do the same at the Olympics,” he said during a gathering between Paris 2024 chef de mission (CDM) Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin and the athletes here today.
Earlier, the gathering was also attended by Road to Gold programme coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam as well as national athletes like Mohamad Aniq Kasdan (weightlifting), Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir (women’s cycling) and Johnathan Wong (shooting).
Khairulnizam will set up camp at the Marseille Marina, which is the official Paris Olympic venue, from June 1 to June 19 to acclimatise to the conditions there before competing in the World Cup in Kiel, Germany on June 20-26.
He will then return home for 10 days before flying off to Marseille again to undergo training until the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Olympics.
Khairulnizam, the winner of two Asian Games silver medals, qualified for the Olympics on merit after finishing third in the single-handed dinghy ILCA 7 class at the Last Chance Regatta in Hyeres, France last month.
