M'SIA TO LAUNCH OLYMPIC GOLD PROGRAMME

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will soon launch a programme aimed at ensuring its athletes win golds at London Olympics in 2012 and the 2016 Tokyo Olympics.

Youth and Sports Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that among sports to
be given priority in realising the goal were badminton, archery and
cycling.

"After Beijing Olympics, efforts to develop sports cannot end just like
that. Instead, something needs to be done immediately to improve the performance
of national athletes in the Games.

"If before this our target was to obtain medals no matter what colour, our
goal this time is to win golds at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2016
Olympics in Tokyo," he told reporters here Saturday.

He said the Olympic gold programme would start after a blueprint on the
direction of national sports had been drawn up at a convention to be held after
Hari Raya.

"We will look at the outcome of the convention first before starting the
sports programme," he said.

Ismail said athletes, representatives from sports associations and
sportswriters would participate in the convention that was first held in 1996 in
Langkawi.

He also announced that the ministry had received a RM4 million allocation
from the government to build extreme sports centres in all parliamentary
constituencies to promote extreme sports in the country.

"The project will be implemented in stages," he said after witnessing a
base jumping event at Kuala Lumpur Tower.

-- BERNAMA