Bridging the gap through innovation ahead of LA Olympics

IT was an open secret that the National Sports Institute (NSI) were the punching bag in the recent post-mortem analysis on the Paris Olympic Games last year, with the government agency being blamed for the lack of full-time scientific experts in psychology to put the nation’s elite athletes in the right frame of mind during competition.

With only two bronze medals from the familiar sports of badminton, little credit was given to the research and development done over the decades behind the scenes.

Consequently, slightly a month ago, the NSI expressed their readiness to strengthen their R&D, focusing specifically on high-potential sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Close on the heels of the successful staging of the 2024 National Sports Technology Innovation Awards (AITS) ceremony in December, NSI have the luxury of the RM15 million in funding allocated by the government.

NSI CEO, Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli, had spoken about understanding the nation’s position in the competitive landscape by conducting a gap analysis, aimed at identifying where we stand currently and where we aspire to be in the immediate and foreseeable future.

Organised by NSI in collaboration with Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI), AITS is certainly a way of appreciating the innovators behind the scenes.

Sifting through the list of winners is an eye-opener.

Winner of the Perdana Special Award, OPI Sports Drink, is a newly introduced product line designed to cater to the growing demand for healthier sports beverage options.

Infused with 5% to 10% natural coconut water, the product stands out as a functional low-calorie drink offering hydration and energy benefits.

Key ingredients include electrolytes, caffeine, taurine, and essential vitamins (B2, B6, B12), while being non-carbonated and low or free from added sugars.

Partnerships with prominent Malaysian football clubs and visibility at major events such as the Sepang 1000km Endurance Race further enhance the brand’s market presence.

The FZ8, Malaysia’s first high-performance road bike, is also set to revolutionise the cycling industry.

Inspired by the WX-R Vorteq Olympic track bike, famously used by Datuk Azizulhasni Awang to secure Malaysia’s first silver medal in men’s keirin at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the FZ8 represents a strategic leap in sports technology and engineering.

This groundbreaking project is a result of a technology transfer agreement, leveraging the intellectual property of the WX-R Vorteq in collaboration with BOZETTA LAB Sdn Bhd, a renowned local company specialising in high-end product design and development.

Designed for both performance and innovation, the FZ8 incorporates advanced carbon fibre materials to ensure strength, lightness, and durability. Additionally, the bike will feature state-of-the-art near field communication (NFC) technology for unique bicycle identification, stored on the blockchain to prevent counterfeiting and track the service record. These digitalisation features will add value to bike ownership.

Archery will be able to utilise Ai3D Computer-Aided Monitoring System (CAMS), an artificial intelligence evaluation tool in analysing the shooting posture of the archers, courtesy of Ai3D PLT, a Malaysian technological start-up established in 2022.Led by Prof Dr Lim King Hann, Dr Jonathan Phang Then Sien and Dr Basil Andy Lease as a spin-off from Curtin University Malaysia, the company’s mission is to integrate AI and 3D technology into sports science, offering customised software and hardware solutions across three core industries – sports and rehabilitation, oil and gas, and civil and construction.

The Ai3D CAMS is a markerless solution designed to transform archery precision sports through a system that automates the collection of joint kinematic data, allowing athletes to visualise their posture profiles for improved performance and reduced injury risks.

The primary objective of Ai3D-CAMS is to enhance athletic performance by providing precise, comfortable posture and joint data capture. It translates this data into kinematic metrics for evaluating archers’ postures and supports efficient communication between athletes and coaches through automated report generation.

These types of innovation provide small but significant advantages for the athletes, enhancing their chances of making a mark on the prestigious stage.

If more R&D successes — like the development of software, analytics and new equipment – can be commercialised for use by both local and international athletes, they could provide a return on investment for the government. Above all it may contribute to ending the nation’s wait for the elusive gold medal at the Olympics.

Of course, with the help of the software – the human capital.