Pursuing that elusive dream

MALAYSIA is a nation of sports lovers, of that, there is no doubt. But ironically, the thing we crave most – sporting glory, continues to elude us.

Only in badminton and squash can we claim to have risen to the summit – the odd Thomas Cup and Datuk Nicol David’s glory years are the case in point.

But in the world’s biggest sporting events, we have repeatedly failed, time and time again.

The resignation of Malaysia’s football coach Kim Pan-gon on Tuesday points to a deeper malaise surrounding our most popular sport.

The South Korean’s abrupt departure after Harimau Malaya failed to make it into the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers leaves more questions than answers.

The dream of every football fan in this country is for Malaysia to qualify for the World Cup and we are no nearer to this goal than when Pan-gon was first hired two years ago. To be fair to him, he did improve Malaysia’s global football ranking from 154 to the current 135 ranked country in the world.

It should be noted that the 2026 edition will feature 48 teams, a huge jump from the 32 teams that participated in Qatar 2022. So, this was a golden opportunity for Malaysia to qualify because Asia would have eight teams competing in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Alas, our failure to even make the third round of these qualifiers is particularly jarring when you see the Asian countries that are still in with a chance.

Indonesia, ranked just one spot (134) above us, is there together with China and Japan – teams that we used to beat on a regular basis during Malaysian football’s glory days in the 1970s and 1980s.

But the other Asian third round qualifiers (18 in total) shows that the Middle Eastern countries like UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have all made significant progress over the last few years.

In fact, we are miles behind them now and it would be a minor miracle if we were to qualify for the 2030 World Cup. Well, perhaps only if FIFA increases the qualified teams to more than 100!

The other viable option is for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to make a combined bid, together with the other Asean countries to jointly host a World Cup. This is not too far-fetched because FIFA is taking the multi-host country route now – not content with three host nations in 2026, for the first time, three countries from two continents will host the competition in 2030, with Morocco, Portugal, and Spain as host nations.

Nation’s hope: Five-time Olympian Azizul is determined to win gold for Malaysia.

FIFA rules allow for host nations to automatically qualify for the main event. Saudi Arabia is the confirmed host in 2034, so the earliest possible opportunity for a Malaysia-backed joint bid would be in 2038.

In one week’s time the Olympics kicks off in Paris. Could this be the occasion when the country gets the long-elusive gold medal we crave? A luxury serviced apartment in Setia Alam, RM1mil cash, a Chery car – these are just some of the fabulous rewards that await our gold medallists – any gold medallist.

But even more than these riches, the sportsperson who first breaks our “golden duck” is assured of sporting immortality. He or she will be feted as royalty and multiple honours will be bestowed upon them.

The problem is our Malaysian athletes have always flattered to deceive. There have been a few close calls in the past (Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s near misses in badminton comes to mind) and we somehow contrive to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The multi-discipline event is from July 26 to Aug 11, and we are expected to send a contingent of about 25 athletes, the smallest contingent in over 30 years. These athletes will compete in a diverse range of sports including swimming, weightlifting, badminton, golf, artistic gymnastics, archery, athletics, cycling, table tennis and taekwondo.

There appears to be a reasonable chance of the Malaysians landing medals at the Games, but the country’s best shot at its first Olympic gold will be from Malaysian cyclist Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and men’s badminton doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.

Azizul is an experienced five-time Olympian, but the Paris Games is realistically his last shot at glory. Age and injuries have taken its toll but the evergreen “pocket rocketman” has a big heart and a never-say-die attitude so don’t rule him out.

This will be the second Olympics for Aaron and Wook Yik, having won bronze in Tokyo. The youngsters have shown promise and with the luck of the draw, have the potential to go all the way.

The recent controversy over the official attire aside, our athletes are raring to go and there is every chance that we will have podium finishes from the team. The last time the national contingent came home empty handed from the Olympics was during Athens 2004.

Let us hope that they can rise to the occasion and make us proud. It will mean a lot to all Malaysians if the Negaraku is played during the medal presentation ceremony.