Michelle Chai has resigned as the Road to Gold (RTG) assistant coordinator, and this matter is expected to be raised when the RTG committee meets next week.
Twentytwo13 learnt that Chai, a seasoned sports administrator, submitted her resignation letter yesterday.
It remains unclear why Chai decided to leave. She declined to comment when contacted by Twentytwo13.
The RTG is co-chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria. Datuk Stuart Ramalingam is the project coordinator, while others in the RTG committee include former athletes Datuk Nicol David, Datuk Lee Chong Wei, and Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi.
Chai, a key figure in the national badminton scene, was brought into the RTG programme in March 2023 to help identify the “needs of athletes for their preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games”.
Widely described as a “top-up service” to the existing Podium Programme, the RTG was unveiled on March 12, 2023, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, but is also a “long-term roadmap” for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Malaysia returned with two bronze medals, thanks to the national shuttlers, at the Summer Games in the French capital. The nation has yet to win the elusive Olympic gold medal.
