JOHANNESBURG: South African Olympic chief Moss Mashishi said on Tuesday his country’s single medal at the Beijing Olympics had put the issue of funding firmly in the spotlight.

South Africa sent their largest ever squad of 135 athletes to Beijing but came away with only a silver won by long jumper Khotso Mokoena, leaving the country joint 71st in the final medal table.

“The silver lining to come from just winning one medal is that the issue of funding has now become a major discussion point,” Mashishi told a news conference.

“We have agreement with government that that is the key factor to put on the agenda, but it is a multi-stakeholder issue and, in order to become world-beaters, we all have to work together,” he said.

“We have a very strong base moving forward and what’s important is what we do to support the athletes. We must start now for 2012,” he added.