Malaysia at the Olympics
Malaysia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1964. Prior to that, athletes from Malaya and North Borneo competed as separate independent teams at the 1956 Games. In 1960, just Malaya competed at the Games. From that time on, after the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, athletes from this region competed under the banner of Malaysia. Singapore competed as part of Malaysia in 1964 before the became independent again.
The only time that Malaysia was not in the Summer Games since their debut was in 1980 when they supported the US-led boycott of the Summer Olympics being held in Moscow at the time. However, since their debut in 1964, Malaysia has not won any Olympic medal that is until the duo of Jalani and Razif Sidek won the bronze in the men's doubles in badminton in Barcelona, Spain in 1992.
The very next Summer Olympics, their brother, Rashid Sidek also won the bronze this time for men's singles for the same sport in Atlanta 1996. On the very same day, the duo of Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock won the silver for men's doubles in badminton. In 2008, Lee Chong Wei took the silver in men's singles for badminton in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Lee Chong Wei then returned in London for the 2012 Summer Games to get his second Olympic medal on the same sport which happens to be silver as well making him Malaysia's first Olympic multi-medalist. That year, female diver Pandelela Rinong took the bronze in the women's 10 meter platform.
Trivia
- Malaysian athletes have won a total of six Olympic medals. Up until 2012, when they won a medal in diving, they were all in the sport of badminton. (results including 2012)
- At the 2012 London Olympics, Malaysian shooter Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi competed while 34 weeks pregnant.
Related Pages
- About Malaya, Singapore and North Borneo at the Olympic Games.
- About Malaysia at the Winter Olympics
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Malaysia
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