Sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi with the national flag. - Bernama
SEPANG: Malaysia's main hopes in the World University Games starting on Thursday are national sprint champion Mohd Azeem Fahmi and national 400m record holder Umar Osman.
The other hopefuls for the Games in Rhine-Ruhr are the 2024 Paris Olympic Games archery representatives Syagiera Mashayikh, Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi and Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil.
These athletes were part of the largest group of Malaysian contingent, who left for the Games on Sunday.
The other athletes are 15 from badminton, followed by swimming (eight), taekwondo (11) and seven officials.
The opening ceremony for the Games will be at the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena on July 16 (Wednesday).
Malaysia are targeting seven medals regardless of colour in this edition, and will participate in six of the 19 sports, involving the participation of 64 athletes, consisting of 39 men and 25 women.
The six sports that the national contingent will participate in are artistic gymnastics, badminton, archery, athletics, swimming and taekwondo
In the 2023 edition in Chengdu, China, the national contingent recorded the best achievement in the history of their participation in the Games with a collection of one gold, one silver and five bronze medals.
The Games, which involves the participation of about 150 countries and 8,500 athletes, will end on July 27. - Bernama
