[This article was first published on 21st June 2024 and updated on 14th July 2024.]
Olympic fever is in the air! The upcoming Olympic Games in Paris are due to commence from 26th July to 11th August 2024 – and Malaysia will be sending close to 20 athletes (thus far) to compete in a number of sports, including badminton, sailing, archery, cycling and more.
makchic is proud to highlight the 10 sportswomen from the entire contingent who are headed to Paris to compete in the world-renowned games. We also have an exclusive message from our Youth and Sports Minister, Yang Berhormat (YB) Hannah Yeoh for our athletes, ahead of the big day. Read on to find out more!Â
Road Race Cycling: Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir
Making history is national cyclist Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir who will be the first Malaysian woman to race in the road event at the upcoming Olympics. The women’s road race in Paris will be a whopping 158km long with 1,700m of climbing combined! Victorious or not, the Terengganu born lass has trailblazed her way and left the door open for future Malaysian women cyclists to compete in the biggest sporting event in the world.
Follow her on Instagram.
Cycling: Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri
Young national track cycling star Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri is only 21 years old and she makes her debut at the Paris Olympics this year. The petite, Kedah-born lass’ main target is the 2028 Olympics, but she is extremely grateful to have qualified for the internationally sporting event this year. This growing star in the Malaysian cycling scene created a sensation this February by ending a 12 year gold drought in the women’s keirin event at the Asian Track Cycling Championships (ACC) 2024 in New Delhi, India. She is Malaysia’s second-ever female track cyclist to have qualified for the Olympics.
Sailing: Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif
For most athletes, making it to even one Olympic event counts as a huge achievement – what more three! Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif from Pasir Gudang, Johor confirmed her ticket to the Paris Olympics early on when she won gold in the 2022 Hangzhou Games. This will be her third appearance in the Olympics after Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.
Archery: Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi
Imagine being 19 years old and headed to the Olympics? Well, for this rising star in Malaysian archery, Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi, that’s where she’s headed. Having taken up the sport at just 10 years old, she will be making her debut in the world’s most prestigious games in a month’s time. The mechanical engineering student will be competing in the women’s individual event. Also, for the first time in history, Ariana, together with Syaqiera Mashayikh and Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil, have qualified together as the Women’s Archery Team for the Olympics – congratulations!Â
Archery: Syaqiera Mashayikh
For national woman recurve archer Syaqiera Mashayikh, this will be her second time at the Olympics as she also represented Malaysia at the last 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The 23-year-old from Johor makes up one-third of the Malaysian Women’s Archery Team, together with Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi and Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil. This is the first time the Malaysian women’s recurve team will feature in the Olympics.
Archery: Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil
20-year-old Nurul Azreena from Selangor will be making her debut in the Paris Olympics. Together with teammates Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi and Syaqiera Mashayikh, the trio have made history for Malaysia by becoming the first ever women’s archery team to qualify for the Olympics.Â
Badminton: Goh Jin Wei
Jin Wei is Malaysia’s only representative in the badminton women’s singles. Though the Penang-born player has been struggling with her form of playing high-level badminton since undergoing surgery in 2019, she is set to make the best of her first-ever appearance in the Olympics. The 24-year-old athlete previously made Malaysian history by clinching Malaysia’s first gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Bueno Aires, Argentina.
Follow her on Instagram.
Badminton: Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah
All eyes will be on these two as they make their first appearance in the Olympics. World No. 13 Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah are Malaysia’s darling badminton duo who will take on world heavyweights from Japan and South Korea. Thus far, no Malaysian women’s doubles pair has gone beyond the quarter-finals at the Olympics.
Badminton: Toh Ee Wei
Ee Wei, together with her badminton partner Chen Tang Jie, make up the sole badminton mixed doubles team headed to the Olympics. The duo were paired up at the end of 2022 and have since become Malaysia’s number 1 mixed doubles pair.
Follow Ee Wei here.
A Note from YB Hannah Yeoh
To cap off, our Youth and Sports Minister, Yang Berhormat (YB) Hannah Yeoh lends a message of encouragement to our amazing athletes, as they prepare for the journey ahead:
In Paris, I’m looking forward to seeing the best version our athletes can be! Qualifying is a big deal, winning would be sweet. Behind every participation is a story of sacrifice. When in Paris, make it count.
Team makchic wishes our Malaysian athletes the very best during the upcoming Olympics – go make us proud!
Since publication of this article, another Malaysian woman athlete, diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri will also be heading to Paris to compete in the women’s 3m springboard individual event.
For the latest updates on Malaysia’s progress in the Olympics, follow the Olympic Council of Malaysia on Instagram.
