14-17 April 2023 – H.E. Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia undertook a three-day working visit to Tokyo, Japan. H.E. Minister was accompanied by several Road to Gold (RTG) Committee members including YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM); YBhg. Dato’ Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, Director General of the National Sports Council (NSC); Mr. Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli, CEO of the National Sports Institute (NSI); Mr. Stuart Michael Ramalingam, Board Member of NSC; and Ms. Michelle Chai, Assistant Coordinator of the RTG project.
The delegation had a fruitful discussion with the top management of Nippon Sports and Science University (NSSU) on various aspects including the existing cooperation between NSC and NSSU, enhancing support service to the athletes and the trainers, and women’s sports development. The Malaysian delegation also had a chance to visit NSSU training facilities both in Tokyo and Yokohama. NSSU is renown for having produced 42 Olympic gold winners for Japan.
While in Tokyo, the delegation also held discussions with Juntendo University as well as High Performance Sports Center of the Japan Sports Council.
Malaysia aspires to become a successful sporting nation and the visit served as a platform to prepare Malaysian athletes for the RTG Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.