2012 Olympics see Malaysia’s first female flag bearer
Emma Davis
WVoN co-editor
A Malaysian diver will become the country’s first female flag bearer at the Olympic Games in London later this month.
Pandelela Rinong has been awarded the opening ceremony role, a privilege which is earmarked for the country’s top athlete.
The 19-year-old was named as sportswoman of the year in April and won a silver medal in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, where she was also a flag bearer.
The Olympic Committee of Malaysia (OCM) faced criticism when it announced it was considering Rinong for the honor, with some within the sports community calling for the position to be given to badminton player Lee Chong Wei.
29-year-old Wei was the first Malaysian athlete to win a medal since 1996 when he took home silver from the Olympic games in Beijing.
OCM President Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar told Malaysian news website The Star online: ““We have good reasons for selecting Pandelela. I wish we didn’t have to come to this where the matter has been blown into a big thing.
“We offered Chong Wei the opportunity to be the flag bearer four years ago but he declined because he wanted to be fully focused on his event then.”
Lee is currently suffering from an ankle injury and has said this will be the last Olympic games in which he will compete.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia cited this as a reason as to why he should be the flag bearer, along with his celebrated sporting achievements.
An e-mail vote was held by the executive board members of the OCM with nine out of 12 votes in Rinong’s favor.
We are lucky here in the United States where female athletes have Title IX. As a former female athlete and someone who has worked in the sports field, I was lucky to do what I did. For Rinong, who is only 19, to represent her country, let alone be the flag bearer, is a huge honor for her. It truly is unfair, in any country, that men should be seen as superior. Rinong should hold her head high. When the Olympics start next week, I will be watching and I can’t wait to see how great of an athlete she is.
Jeana, Lee Chong Wei should be the flag bearer for 2 reasons.
One, he was the only medalist for the Beijing Olympics, and so far in the London Olympics. How can you say anyone else deserves to be flag bearer more than him?
Two, this is his last Olympics, and he will be retiring. He should be flag bearer for sentimental reasons. Rinong can always be flag bearer in Rio 4 years later.
I don’t know how women like you arrive at the conclusion that if a man is selected as a flag bearer, it is an implication that men are superior than women. But when a woman is selected a flag bearer, there is no such sexism? Men deserve to be the flag bearer as much as the women.