RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 17 — He has been cool and measured in his statements but now Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin Abdul Majid is ready to party.

The chef-de-mission promised Malaysia would better their London 2012 outing where the country won a silver medal through national shuttler Lee Chong Wei and a bronze by diver Pandelela Rinong.

In Rio, Malaysia has already bagged a silver through Pandelela and Cheong Jun Hoong in the women’s 10m synchronised event while mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong will try and trade their silver for a gold when they play in the finals of their respective events.

This is Malaysia’s best showing since the 1956 Melbourne edition. And it could get even better as Chong Wei, who plays in the quarterfinals today (6.30pm Malaysian time), is another medal hopeful. Pandelela and Nur Dhabitah Sabri also start their campaign in the 10m platform event.

“Mission accomplished. Now we must do even better. We have several more events where we can win medals and we must go for it,” said a delighted Al Amin who is also Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) acting president.

“We have silvers in hand but must work on turning them into gold.”

“Once you are in the knock-out stages, rankings, history and records are no longer important. Anything can happen.”

Al Amin earlier praised Peng Soon and Liu Ying for keeping their cool and listening to their coaches as they defeated China’s Xu Chen and Ma Jin in the semifinals yesterday.

He said the Chinese pair, losing finalists in London 2012, felt the pressure and made several unforced errors.

“But, let’s not take anything away from our shuttlers. They played their guts out and deserved to win,” Al Amin said.

“We have met our KPI (key performance index) by doing better than London. Anything else would be a bonus.”

Meanwhile, 2013 World Championship men’s singles silver medallist Wong Choong Hann, who is in Rio with a group of fans to cheer on the national shuttlers, said he was confident Malaysia’s long wait for a gold medal would end in Brazil.

“What a day! The badminton players are doing well and I’m so happy for them,” Choong Hann said.

“We are excited and there is a positive vibe among supporters. The players are looking good and we could finally win a gold medal.

“I like our chances in the mixed doubles, even though many say the Indonesian pair is favoured to win. Peng Soon and Liu Ying are capable of beating them,” he said.

“What a day that would be!”