Dr. Norza ZAKARIA Honoured with Sports Leadership Award by the Government of Malaysia

The NOC Malaysia extends its heartiest congratulations to its President, Dr. Norza ZAKARIA, for being honoured with the Sports Leadership Award by the Government of Malaysia.

The prestigious award was presented by the Honourable Mrs. Hannah YEOH, Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia, during the 2024 National Sports Awards Ceremony, held on Tuesday, 13th May 2025, at the Grand Ballroom, Dorsett Grand Subang, Selangor.

As Dr. Norza ZAKARIA was on official duty attending the 45th OCA General Assembly in Kuwait in his capacity as OCA Vice President for Southeast Asia, the award was received on his behalf by Mr. Nur Azmi AHMAD, Deputy President of NOC Malaysia.

The nomination of Dr. Norza ZAKARIA for the Sports Leadership Award was submitted by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in recognition of his tireless efforts and impactful leadership in rejuvenating the development of Badminton in Malaysia.

Over the course of more than a decade, Dr. Norza ZAKARIA has made transformative contributions to the development of Badminton in Malaysia throughout his tenure, serving first as the BAM Deputy President and later as the President. Under his leadership, he spearheaded the construction of the state-of-the-art PETRONAS Akademi Badminton Malaysia, modernised the administration of BAM, strengthen its governance framework and achieved a historic milestone by producing Malaysia’s first-ever World Champion in Men’s Doubles, Aaron Chia Teng Fong OLY-Soh Wooi Yik OLY. He also played a significant role in securing multi-million-ringgit sponsorship deals, ensuring the financial sustainability of BAM.

Although he stepped down as BAM President after the XXXIII Olympic Games Paris 2024, Dr. Norza ZAKARIA has continued his legacy by initiating the establishment of the Asian High Performance Badminton Centre, which has been recognized by the OCA, marking as his first major contribution in his new role as OCA Vice President for Southeast Asia, to which he was elected unopposed on Sunday, 8th September 2024.

His influence in Badminton has also been acknowledged regionally and globally. Dr. Norza ZAKARIA was appointed Honorary President of Badminton Asia (BA) during its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, 29th April 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was also appointed as the Honorary Life President of the BAM during its Council Meeting held on Saturday, 23rd November 2024, also in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Most recently, he was elected as one of 20 distinguished Council Members of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) at the 86th BWF Elective Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 26th April 2025 in Xiamen, China.

“On behalf of NOC Malaysia, I would like to express our most heartfelt congratulations to our President, Dr. Norza ZAKARIA, on receiving the Sports Leadership Award from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia this year” said Mr. Nur Azmi AHMAD, Deputy President of NOC Malaysia.

“His contributions to sports in Malaysia go far beyond Badminton. His leadership in the Olympic Movement has been widely recognised, as reflected in his recent re-election unopposed as President of NOC Malaysia for a third consecutive term on 19th April 2025”

“We are proud that Dr. Norza ZAKARIA continues to play a significant role in the Olympic Movement, particularly through his position as the OCA Vice President for Southeast Asia since 2024” he added.