KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15-- Sailor Kevin Lim will become the first Malaysian to compete in for four consecutive Olympics, despite being snubbed by his country's officials. Lim qualified for the Beijing Games in August by finishing 15th out of 52 sailors at the recent world Laser championships in Terrigal, Australia. A qualified doctor, the 34-year-old Lim was last year excluded from a National Sports Council programme for elite athletes because he failed to win a medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. The two-times Asian Games silver medallist, who made his Olympic debut in 1996 in Atlanta, worked full-time and paid for his own training to prepare for the Australian event. He sealed his place at Beijing by finishing fifth in race nine behind Australian winner Tom Slingsby, whose four victories helped him to retain his world title. Each country is allowed one sailor for each of the 11 sailing classes in the Olympics. Malaysia have won only three medals at the Olympics, all in badminton.
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