A heavily strapped Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik staged a remarkable comeback in Tokyo from 12-18 down in the first game before cruising past Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the second, winning 21-19, 21-14 to bag Malaysia’s first ever gold medals in the world badminton championship and set the tone for the country’s Merdeka and Malaysia celebrations.
The Malaysian pair displayed a solid defence and decisive counter-attacking play to thwart the Indonesians’ aggressive game plan. Their mental fortitude when the chips were down in the first game should inspire many not to lose hope when the stakes are high. Congratulations, Aaron and Wooi Yik!
Their achievement adds to the Merdeka/Malaysia Day lustre set by the country’s judiciary, which has shown its independence in recent weeks, despite intense pressure from disgruntled politicians and their backers, especially over the last week.
We live in hope of better days ahead of us despite the dark clouds around us.
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Many people just realised Lee Chong Wei has never been a world champion despite ranked number one. In fact he has never won Olympic gold and Asian Games gold.
I believe Lee Tze Jia, if can be consistent, can beat Lee Chong Wei to be. ‘Grand Slam’ champions in those tournaments since he is still young and improving!
Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6eNEo4oEwgE
This Merdeka Day we need to celebrate that justice is still alive (at least for now) in our country. Rightfully sending the National Embarrassment to jail, even better the corrupted ex-PM of the country means a lot. The world watched as the confidence in our judiciary is of utmost importance to any nation. We can be proud of this achievement today. Merdeka!
Sadly, when non-Malays achieve great success in the international arena or even locally for that matter, they are not celebrated and recognised with happiness and pride by the authorities. It is important to show Malaysian Chinese that they are regarded with equal value as other citizens. The tragic fact is UMNO has instilled in the Malays the notion that the success non-Malay citizens is a reflection of Malay failure as a race in UMNO’s morally bankrupt zero sum game politics. The recognition of the pair will give meaning to ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ which is glibly bandied about by Ismail Sabri when… Read more »
Hopefully Hadi Awang could congratulate the pair for winning World Championship title (a first for Malaysians regardless of race) for the nation’s 65th birthday.
In Malaysia , badminton is probably the best sport to prove the power of its racial diversity. It also an area of activity where racism is the least obvious /meted out by successive governments and supported by fans of all races. Historically, we had top players in the World for the three main races ie Malays, Chinese and Indians The Sidek brothers, Wong Peng Soon, Eddy Choong, Tan Aik Huang, Tan Yee Khan, Ng,Boon Bee, Lee Chong Wei and Punch Gunalan including those mentioned above and many more in prestigious tournaments which I may have omitted. Imagine how well Malaysia… Read more »
The Malaysian pair has never been consistent and must enjoy the moment as they are showered with rewards, knowing that to repeat the feat will be a humongous task at any future BMF tournaments. Squeezed every Ringgit from any sponsors and advertisers between now and October (Danish Open) as the reality will bite then.
The Malay community might not be sophisticated, but they are smart enough to see how the UMNO special meeting talked only about the super wealthy Najib, a “billionaire” crook behind bars. None of the 3,000 UMNO members and leaders talked about people’s “bread and butter” problems, let alone unemployment, underemployment, high cost of living or sagging economy.