Youth & Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the success of newly crowned world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Wei is a huge win for the Road To Gold (RTG) programme.
The RTG is a ‘top-up’ programme designed to help the country’s elite athletes in performance related support, which has now paid off in style after aiding the national mixed doubles pair win gold in Paris on Sunday.
“This is one of the biggest achievements for RTG, because the programme has invested funds to these athletes. For Chen & Toh, this victory will change their identity.
“I want their confidence to soar, they must walk like giants now because they are world champions. For RTG, all athletes signed contracts to give their commitment to the country, because this is an investment for the government.
“They followed through on the commitment they signed, and in four months we could see the results. They are really our RTG success story,” she said during the welcome ceremony for Chen & Toh, along with national women’s doubles silver medalists Pearly Tan & M.Thinaah on Tuesday.
The Minister was referring to Chen-Toh’s split back in March, when a breakdown in communication saw the national association briefly pairing them with different partners.
Yeoh had back in April, asked for the pair to stay on together to honour their commitment to the country after signing their RTG contracts.
A day after her request, Chen-Toh were reunited, and resumed their partnership at the Singapore Open in May.
On Sunday, the world number four pair capped their biggest career success by winning the World Championships mixed doubles gold medal after a straight game success over Chinese pair Jian Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin.
Toh also hailed the contribution of RTG, specifically highlighting the support given to help her recover from her back injury.
“The support is not just for me, but for every player in the programme at the Badminton Association of Malaysia. This has allowed us to go all out on court and give our best,” she added.
The RTG is a ‘top-up’ programme designed to help the country’s elite athletes in performance related support, which has now paid off in style after aiding the national mixed doubles pair win gold in Paris on Sunday.
“This is one of the biggest achievements for RTG, because the programme has invested funds to these athletes. For Chen & Toh, this victory will change their identity.
“I want their confidence to soar, they must walk like giants now because they are world champions. For RTG, all athletes signed contracts to give their commitment to the country, because this is an investment for the government.
“They followed through on the commitment they signed, and in four months we could see the results. They are really our RTG success story,” she said during the welcome ceremony for Chen & Toh, along with national women’s doubles silver medalists Pearly Tan & M.Thinaah on Tuesday.
The Minister was referring to Chen-Toh’s split back in March, when a breakdown in communication saw the national association briefly pairing them with different partners.
Yeoh had back in April, asked for the pair to stay on together to honour their commitment to the country after signing their RTG contracts.
A day after her request, Chen-Toh were reunited, and resumed their partnership at the Singapore Open in May.
On Sunday, the world number four pair capped their biggest career success by winning the World Championships mixed doubles gold medal after a straight game success over Chinese pair Jian Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin.
Toh also hailed the contribution of RTG, specifically highlighting the support given to help her recover from her back injury.
“The support is not just for me, but for every player in the programme at the Badminton Association of Malaysia. This has allowed us to go all out on court and give our best,” she added.
