Despite being the youngest in the national contingent to the 2018 Asian Games, it did not prevent Malaysian skateboarding athlete Ian Nuriman Amri from having high confidence in bagging a medal in Indonesia later this month.

The 11-year-old had set a target to win the gold medal, or at least silver, at the biggest multi-sport event in Asia.

Ian is one of four Malaysian skateboard athletes set to create history as skateboarding events would be contested at the Asian Games for the first time at Skatepark, Jakabaring Sports Complex, Palembang.

Also representing the country are Yaziru Amiru Basyir Zainordin, Fatin Syahirah Roszizi and Christina Lai Grace.

"I am happy to represent the country because it is not easy to get this great opportunity at a young age.

"I am keen in skateboarding because my dad skates too; he does not force me [to play skateboard] but he is my motivator.

"I am not afraid to compete against older and more experienced athletes; I have competed many times and won against older athletes.

"In fact, many of my friends are older than me, only a few are my age," he said.

When asked about the risk of injury in the extreme sport, Ian, who would take part in men's park and street events, said he was familiar with mild injuries often experienced by skateboarding athletes.

"Many do not want to skateboard after falling. The name is extreme sports; if we don’t fall, it is not an extreme sport.

"I have fallen many times, but I have been lucky because I have only experienced only light injuries.

"Playing skateboard has its own fun such as enjoying the wind at high speed. If there is no car, we can just go on a skateboard to go to work or anywhere, "he added.

The Sekolah Kebangsaan Tiara Permai, Sentul pupil also harboured a dream to represent the country at the 2024 Olympics in Paris after the sport was approved for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 edition.

Meanwhile, chief coach Zambri Ramli said Ian had good prospects but he would need to overcome fierce challenges from other players, especially from Japan.

"Ian is indeed a very good athlete and can give a fierce fight at the Asian Games despite being only 11 years old.

"During training in Thailand last week, Thai athletes were amazed by his abilities.

"However, it should be remembered that Japan is in a class of its own and has world-class athletes.

"It's not easy to win medals, but anything can happen during the competition," he said.