Boycotting Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 would be an act of self-destruction

IN 1980, a ragtag bunch of Malaysian footballers overcame the odds to pip favourites South Korea in the final of a qualifier that was their golden ticket to the Moscow 1980 Olympics.

The team comprised players like R Arumugam, Soh Chin Aun, Shukor Salleh and Santokh Singh - household names even among Singaporeans from Singapore's participation in the Malaysia Cup then. It came eight years after the Malaysians made their maiden debut in the 1972 Munich Olympics, where they defeated the United States 3-0 for their sole victory out of three group matches.

But the players never got the chance to emulate the 1972 team's feat as Malaysia joined a US-led boycott of the Moscow Olympics to protest the 1979 Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. Altogether, 65 nations, including Singapore, joined the boycott. In retaliation, the Soviets and 14 allies boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.