KUALA LUMPUR – The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) is hoping that the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) will do the right thing and do what is best for the athlete.
OCM was referring to the latest fiasco, where MAF was planning to send an official instead of a coach to accompany high jumper Lee Hup Wei to the Tokyo Olympics next month.
Its President Tan Sri Norza Zakaria said that OCM cannot get involved in deciding for the association as this is an internal issue.
“They will need to sort it out internally, but I hope they decide on what is best for the athlete.” He told The Vibes when contacted.
MAF’s shocking decision to send a manager instead of Lee’s coach, Aleksandar Gasparyan did not sit well with many in the sports fraternity as some have even raised the question if there was any malicious intent in the decision.
When the Vibes contacted MAF President Datuk S.M Muthu for further clarifications, he did not give his comments but shared a screenshot of a piece of paper through WhatsApp that stated what a manager’s role is.
In the screenshot, it was stated that a manager’s role in a major championship is to make sure the athlete is well taken care of in all aspects. The welfare of the athlete is of paramount importance and a manager should be accompanying the athlete to ensure matters such as logistics.
It also stated that a senior and experienced athlete can take care of their own training programs.
With this response from the Muthu, it is understood that MAF could be holding firm with its decision to send a manager instead of Lee’s coach.
At the same time, a source in the sports fraternity said the coach should be there instead because of logistic matters, there are more than enough officials making the trip to Tokyo to ensure the athletes are well taken care of.
“The athlete needs his coach with him, so the coach can help improvise his performance along the way. How does an official help an athlete in terms of performance?
“The right thing to do here is to send Gasparyan to accompany Lee,” said the source.
Lee, who became the first Malaysian track and field athlete to reach the final at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar is gunning for his third Olympic event as he must equal the qualifying mark of 2.33m at the Qosanov Memorial Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which will take place on June 19-20.
However, Lee will still make the cut to the Olympics even if he misses, based on his World Ranking merits, where he ranked at 19. He must be in the top 32 when the Olympic qualifying period ends this month. – The Vibes, 10 June, 2021
