Paris Olympics 2024: Malaysian designers, ex-athlete join backlash over ‘sports day’ kit

The casual collection includes tracksuits, polo shirts, and T-shirts.

But scorn swiftly followed the launch across Malaysia’s social media.

“We are going to the Olympics … we want to promote Malaysia in the eyes of the world … it’s embarrassing to have a design that looks like a school kid’s emergency outfit,” Aliff Shanusi lamented on X.

“Please, there’s still time to change. This looks like it was designed using Microsoft Paint from Parameswara’s era,” Januar Haikal added, also on X, referring to the attire.

Another called the uniform “ugly” and questioned why Malaysia’s wide pool of talented designers were not brought into the design process.

Retired Malaysian track cyclist and three-time Olympian Josiah Ng Onn Lam chimed in at what he says is a routine fail when it comes to getting the designs right for competition.

“I’ve competed at 3 Olympics for Malaysia and there is a reason I didn’t keep any of our outfits as a souvenir,” he said on Instagram.

Malaysia’s Chef de Mission to the Paris showpiece, Hamidin Mohd Amin, on Tuesday defended the kits and chastised the public for focusing on appearances rather than athletic performance.

“The aesthetic appeal of Malaysia’s official jersey for the 2024 Paris Olympics will lose its importance unless the team secures Malaysia’s first gold medal in Paris,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

“With 31 days left until the Olympics, the media and fans need to support our athletes, not question small things like this. There is no point having nice attire but not winning gold.”

But a day later, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) was reportedly moved to consider revamping the collection for competing athletes with sports equipment giant Yonex. According to a source quoted by