Prenatal Testosterone and Sporting Success among Malaysian Rugby Athletes

Most researchers imply that superior performance in sports, masculinity and aggression has been accounted to relate with low 2D: 4D. During the past South East Asian (SEA) Games 2017, the Malaysia rugby sevens national team won the gold medal in the final and this has put them as the most dominant rugby team in the region. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the 2D: 4D status of the team and associate with their recent success and also determine whether right 2D: 4D or left 2D: 4D has higher prenatal testosterone. The team participations in international tournament achievement records were taken from year 2015 to 2017. The result demonstrated that all subjects (N=12) possessed low 2D: 4D (0.93±0.023mm), and this was in alignment with past studies stating low 2D: 4D was associated with elite athletes and frequent sporting success in various sports. However, there was no significant difference discovered between right 2D: 4D and left 2D: 4D, proving that either right 2D: 4D nor left 2D: 4D of the subjects was more susceptible to prenatal testosterone. It is highly suggested that given with proper periodizationand along with other related factors, low 2D: 4D athletes can have the potential to perform much better and higher chances of having sporting success.