KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — National athletes must not be afraid to aim higher as they strive towards winning Malaysia’s first gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer, Dr Khairi Zawi said the athletes must strive to surpass current achievements rather than set a ‘safe target.’

"Our athletes are strong mentally. The problem is they never challenged themselves to achieve a higher target for fear of failure and criticism.

"For example, those who made it to Rio Olympics had proven that their mental strength is comparable to other world champions. What differentiates them is the desire to win.

"The public also needs to be bold by setting a target and willing to accept failure, rather than put the blame on the athletes and coaches,” he told Bernama, here today.

Khairi said in addition to the mental strength, the athletes should be taught to become hungry for success from a young age.

Squash queen Datuk Nicol David’s hunger for success drove her to train overseas and was rewarded when she became the world number one in Augsut 2006.

"Nicol was named among the world’s 20 best athlete of all time.”

Nicol reigned as world number one for 108 months, the longest in history.

"Athletes who succeed are not necessarily those who win every time, but those who are able to rise from the last defeat and perform better.

"Usain Bolt and Lin Dan did not win all the events, but they always win in large events such as the World Championships and the Olympic Games.”

Khairi said although the mental strength comes from the athletes, the NSI could assist by driving them to reach targets set by their associations.

On Malaysia’s feat of winning four silver medals and one bronze medal in Rio recently, Khairi said that the achievements were unexpected.

"The campaign in Rio is the best for Malaysia in the Olympics as targeted only three medals. We won five medals with a small contingent of 32 athletes. It is a high ratio even without the gold medal.”

The four silver medals were won by Datuk Lee Chong (men’s singles), Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong (men’s doubles), Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying (mixed doubles), Pandelela Rinong/Cheong Jun Hoong (diving) while the bronze was won by Azizulhasni Awang (cycling). — Bernama