KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- In a bid to achieve Malaysia's first Olympic gold medal, the National Sports Institute (NSI) has allocated 46 sports science specialists for the seven sports under the Road to London 2012 programme.
NSI director-general Datuk Dr Ramlan Abd Aziz said the specialists would be part of a dedicated team responsible for overseeing the needs of athletes and coaches from the respective sports.
"The team will become smaller when their athletes leave for competitions abroad. The need for sports science specialists for each sporting event varies," he told reporters here Thursday.
Seven sports were listed under the Road To London 2012 programme which are badminton, cycling, archery, diving, shooting, football and hockey.
For badminton, 14 specialits will be divided among two equal teams because there are more athletes who frequently compete overseas in the sport.
Five specialists will be allocated for cycling, while archery has five, diving (4), shooting (5), football (6) and hockey (7).
Dr Ramlan said the team consisted of specialists in conditioning, psychology, bio-mechanics, match analysis, dietician and technical support.
He added that the number of sports science specialists to be brought along with the Malaysian contingent for the Olympic Games in London depended on the number of national athletes eligible to contest at the event.
"It depends on the quota set by organisers for the London Olympics. The more Malaysian athletes eligible to compete, the more specialists we can bring along with out contingent.
"If only a small number of athletes are eligible, then there will be a few specialists. Should we want to increase this number, the Olympic Council of Malaysia would need to put the specialists outside the sports village which would increase costs," he said.
NSI director-general Datuk Dr Ramlan Abd Aziz said the specialists would be part of a dedicated team responsible for overseeing the needs of athletes and coaches from the respective sports.
"The team will become smaller when their athletes leave for competitions abroad. The need for sports science specialists for each sporting event varies," he told reporters here Thursday.
Seven sports were listed under the Road To London 2012 programme which are badminton, cycling, archery, diving, shooting, football and hockey.
For badminton, 14 specialits will be divided among two equal teams because there are more athletes who frequently compete overseas in the sport.
Five specialists will be allocated for cycling, while archery has five, diving (4), shooting (5), football (6) and hockey (7).
Dr Ramlan said the team consisted of specialists in conditioning, psychology, bio-mechanics, match analysis, dietician and technical support.
He added that the number of sports science specialists to be brought along with the Malaysian contingent for the Olympic Games in London depended on the number of national athletes eligible to contest at the event.
"It depends on the quota set by organisers for the London Olympics. The more Malaysian athletes eligible to compete, the more specialists we can bring along with out contingent.
"If only a small number of athletes are eligible, then there will be a few specialists. Should we want to increase this number, the Olympic Council of Malaysia would need to put the specialists outside the sports village which would increase costs," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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