NOC Malaysia Receives Courtesy Visit From IOC Member Mrs. Petra SÖRLING

Mrs. Petra SÖRLING, IOC Member and President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), paid a courtesy visit to NOC Malaysia on Friday, 14th March 2025. She was accompanied by Mr. Lip Khoon YEOH, Honorary Secretary of the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia (TTAM) and Ms. Fong Ling KANG, Manager of TTAM.

She was warmly welcomed by three (3) Executive Board Members of NOC Malaysia namely Dr. Kim Fatt CHONG (Vice President), Mr. Nazif NAJIB (Secretary General) and Ms. Moira TAN (Assistant Secretary General).

Before the formal discussions, Mrs. SÖRLING was given a guided tour by the General Manager of NOC Malaysia, Mr. Wan Hor FONG, to the Sports Museum and Hall of Fame of NOC Malaysia. During the tour, she was briefed on the history of the Olympic Movement in Malaya, which began seventy (70) years ago during the British colonial era. She learned about the key initiatives by NOC Malaysia for the Olympic Movement, including hosting the Olympic Torch Relay in 1964 and 2008, the IOC Trophy Award since 1987 and the 128th IOC Session in 2015.

She also learned about the participation and achievements of the Malaysian Contingents in major Multi-Sport Games under the jurisdiction of NOC Malaysia such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games / Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Additionally, she visited the Hall of Fame of NOC Malaysia, which has inducted a total of 181 individuals (comprising of 113 athletes, 60 officials and 8 journalists) as well as 15 teams.

“I am very impressed with the initiative of NOC Malaysia in establishing a museum to showcase its various contributions to the Olympic Movement in Malaysia” stated Mrs. SÖRLING.

“The Hall of Fame section in the museum which recognizes athletes and officials for their contributions to the Olympic Movement, serves as an excellent example for other NOCs” she added.

Mrs. SÖRLING was pleased to learn that NOC Malaysia has been supporting the development of Table Tennis since the TTAM became affiliated with the NOC in 1961. The Malaysian Table Tennis Team has participated in all major Multi-Sport Games, including the SEAP Games / SEA Games since 1961, the Asian Games since 1966, the Olympic Games in 1988 and the Commonwealth Games since 2002.

“Under the great leadership of our NOC President, Dr. Norza ZAKARIA, we have been supporting the development of Table Tennis in Malaysia by providing our facilities free of charge to host various National Table Tennis Championships as well as the Southeast Asia Youth Table Tennis Championship” stated Dr. Kim Fatt CHONG, Vice President and Chairperson of Building and Facilities Committee of NOC Malaysia.

On behalf of the ITTF, Mrs. SÖRLING expressed her gratitude to NOC Malaysia for its unwavering support for the development of Table Tennis in Malaysia. She also expressed optimism about exploring further collaboration and cooperation with NOC Malaysia, especially in light of its latest initiative, the construction of its new headquarters, the Olympic House, in Kuala Lumpur.

The courtesy visit by Mrs. Petra SÖRLING concluded with a lunch reception hosted by NOC Malaysia at Pik Wah Restaurant, a renowned Chinese restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.