Kuala lumpur: Aquatics (diving), badminton, cycling (track), archery, squash, karate, and wushu have been earmarked as sports with potential to secure medals at the upcoming Asian Games in 2026, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim announced.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the sports identified with medal-winning potential include weightlifting, lawn bowls, para athletics, para lawn bowls, and para powerlifting. The ministry, through the National Sports Council, has initiated the special ASIAKOM project to prepare athletes for the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The project is currently focusing on 39 athletes from nine sports, prioritizing training, competition exposure, coaching management, training camps, and sports science and medical support. The selection of sports will be reviewed based on performance at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, Adam Adli noted during an oral question session in the Dewan Rakyat.

Adam Adli was responding to a question from Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN-Rompin) about the ministry’s strategy to nurture grassroots sports talent and the performance outlook for future Olympic and Asian Games. He expressed confidence that recent achievements by national athletes have reinforced Malaysia’s potential to achieve its first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 2028 Games.