Azeem joins Sivasangari as a MILO Malaysia sports ambassador as the pair aim to turn lessons from elite competition into inspiration for young Malaysians.
WITH new milestones still ahead, Azeem and Sivasangari are looking ahead to what comes next, drawing on years of training, challenges, and hard-earned progress to encourage more young Malaysians to discover what they can achieve through sport.
As both athletes enter the next chapter of their careers, national sprint star Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi joins MILO Malaysia as its newest sports ambassador, alongside squash champion S Sivasangari, who enters her third year in the role.
Together, they are taking their experiences beyond the track and court to encourage greater participation in sport among the next generation.
Their appointments come at significant points in their respective careers. Azeem, Malaysia’s national 100-metre record holder, continues his rise as one of the country’s leading sprint talents.
Sivasangari, meanwhile, returns from Aichi-Nagoya having successfully defended her women’s singles gold, with another historic milestone ahead as the first Malaysian female squash player to qualify for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028.
Even as their sights remain firmly on what comes next, their roles with MILO also take them back to where their journeys began.
Long before national records, international podiums and the honour of representing Malaysia, both were young athletes learning their respective sports, with MILO already a familiar presence throughout those early sporting experiences.
Today, they have an opportunity to pass on the lessons and experiences that shaped them to young Malaysians standing where they once stood.
Head of Sports Marketing MILO Malaysia, Lim Kerwin, said: “Young people often see the record, the medal or the moment an athlete stands on the podium, but not always the years of hard work, challenges and perseverance behind it.
“What excites us is what Azeem and Sivasangari’s journeys could unlock in the young people watching them, a child seeing Azeem race today may decide to try athletics tomorrow, while someone watching Sivasangari compete at Los Angeles 2028 may pick up a squash racquet for the first time.
“We have had the privilege of being part of their sporting journeys from the early days. To now see them take everything they have learned and pass on feels like a meaningful full-circle moment, one that we hope will inspire the next generation of young Malaysians to discover what they, too, can achieve through sport.”
Chasing the next milestone
For 22-year-old Azeem, becoming a sports ambassador brings his journey full circle. From discovering athletics at a young age to becoming the fastest Malaysian in history over 100 metres, he has learned that progress at the highest level is rarely linear.
He said: “MILO® has been part of my athletics journey since I was young, so coming back today as a sports ambassador is very meaningful to me. I know what it feels like to be a young athlete trying to improve and wondering how far you can go.”
“As you progress in sport, you realise that not every race will go the way you want it to. What matters is how you respond, what you learn and whether you are willing to keep coming back to put in the work. Keep showing up, keep learning and give yourself the chance to see how far you can go.”
From junior squash to an Olympic first
For Sivasangari, the road ahead leads to a stage that did not exist when she first picked up a squash racquet at eight – the Olympic Games.
More than two decades after competing in junior tournaments where MILO was already a familiar presence, she is now looking ahead to Los Angeles 2028, where squash will make its Olympic debut, while continuing her pursuit of a place among the world’s top three.
Sivasangari said: “When I started playing squash at eight, I could never have known exactly where the sport would eventually take me. I was simply a young girl learning, competing and enjoying the game.
“Some of my earliest memories as a young athlete were of junior competitions where MILO was already part of the sporting environment. Today, I get to meet young athletes who are standing where I once stood, at the beginning of their own journey.
“Sport has given me so much more than results. It has taught me how to deal with difficult moments, how to start again when things do not go according to plan and how to believe in myself. Of course, winning is special.
“But I hope more young Malaysians give themselves the opportunity to experience everything else that sport can give them too. You never know where that first step might eventually take you.”
Azeem and Sivasangari’s roles as sports ambassadors build on MILO Malaysia’s longstanding commitment to grassroots sport by creating opportunities for young Malaysians to get active, experience competition and discover what sport can bring to their lives.
Not every young Malaysian who starts a sport will wear the national colours. But every national athlete once had a first race, a first match or a first opportunity to try.
For Azeem and Sivasangari, the next chapter is about helping more young Malaysians begin their own.