PASSION

    Have you ever felt the feeling of excitement and thrill when you do something? The feeling of always wanting to improve yourself in that particular thing no matter what. Something that distracts you from other things and drifts you into your own world. A place where you can be your true self without worrying about anyone judging you. Perhaps, that is something you are passionate about.

    I, myself was inspired by one of the Malaysian legends, Lee Chong Wei after watching him fighting on the battlefield bringing the country's name into the eyes of the world. It was during the Olympics 2012 in London where a battle between the Malaysian athlete, Lee Chong Wei, and the Chinese athlete, Lin Dan took place as one of the most memorable matches in the history of badminton. 

    I was accompanying my father in buying groceries at a mall and saw a crowd gathering near a place that sells electronic devices. I joined the crowd and realized they were watching a match that was being live-stream on the television and everyone was watching with intense.  It was the second set of the match and everyone was cheering for the national athlete. I watched as Lee Chong Wei fought with all his might to win a single point and pushed his way to win the set. 

    The match continued to the rubber set determining the champion of the match. The audience can see the athletes being nervous and tired during the rubber set as it was the final match. Of course, the Malaysians put high hopes in the national athlete, Lee Chong Wei to carve a history in the world of badminton sport and Malaysia as the first Malaysian badminton player to bring the gold medal back to his home country. Everyone was praying and hoping for the Malaysian athlete to continue fighting while a loud sound from the crowd could be heard chanting "LEE CHONG WEI, LEE CHONG WEI, LEE CHONG WEI" filling the entire space of the stadium.

    The score was 19-20 with Lin Dan leading the match and I could not bear to watch the entire match because of the suspense. As fate would have it, the last stroke from Lee Chong Wei was out giving the final point to Lin Dan giving him the title of two-time Olympic gold-medallist in badminton. While Lin Dan was running around celebrating his win, Lee Chong Wei was squatting down with a sorrowful face and everyone could feel the sadness in his face. As both of the players hugged it out to show sportsmanship, Lee Chong Wei could not bare to look at his supporters afraid he had disappointed his country and himself.

    After that, everyone went back to their own business feeling disappointed and sad about the recent news. After the match ended, I could not help but feel down all the way home. That was when I tell myself to become a professional badminton player in Malaysia and win the Olympics. Then, as I grow older, I started to realize that it is not always about winning or losing the match, it is about how you keep hitting back till the last point just like how Lee Chong Wei did not give up or lose hope during his match with Lin Dan. He knows Lin Dan is a tough opponent and most of the matches with him before had always ended up with him losing to Lin Dan. Even though he knew the chance of him winning the match was little, he kept fighting for every single point with a glimpse of hope bringing the gold medal to his home country and himself. 

    Forget about the gold medal in Olympics, Lee Chong Wei is one of the badminton legends for a reason. In his career, he conquered the world ranking for 349 weeks holding the title as the No. 1 ranked player in the world breaking an all-time record as the only player to rank No. 1 for more than 300 weeks. Not only that, but he was also the only player male or female to rank No. 1 for 200 consecutive weeks.  I would not list every accomplishment of the legend but if you are interested to know in detail, you can always refer on the Internet. Because of these many accomplishments, Lee Chong Wei is considered by many sports analysts to be one of the greatest badminton players of all time.

    Indeed, every beginning will eventually come to an end. The badminton legend, Lee Chong Wei, who turned 38 on October 21 in 2019, bid a tearful goodbye to badminton last year. During a press conference at the Sports Ministry in Putrajaya, Lee announced his retirement with a heavy heart. "It is a tough decision to make but I was left with no option after my recent consultation with doctors in Taiwan last month," said the 38-year-old five-time Commonwealth gold medalist. The fans were tearing up as he announced his retirement indicating an era is coming to an end. During his last moment in the field of badminton, he quoted "I'm sorry that I couldn’t make it to Tokyo this time around. And I’m sorry I didn’t deliver an Olympic gold. But I know I’ve no regrets as I’ve tried my best. My very best. Thank you very much to all of you. Lee Chong Wei signing out."

"If you dare to win, you should also dare to lose"

- Lee Chong Wei

    It is a famous quote by Lee Chong Wei that I always use whenever I feel like giving up on something. Whenever I remember this quote, I would always remember how Lee Chong Wei would fight with all his might for a single point in his match even though the match was clearly against him. I can say that I admire him not mainly because of his countless win in matches but it is because of how I portrayed him as a warrior willing to give it all no matter how scary the battlefield can be. Just like how life can be full of surprises and filled with difficult obstacles, the pain is necessary for us to learn and develop ourselves as the journey will get harder.

    

    For me, badminton gave a great impact on my life in many good ways. To this day, I have never lost my original ambition to become a national badminton player and will continue to put effort. This dream might sound ridiculous as I enter the world of adulthood but deep down inside, there is still a small hope clinging to me that I can never seem to let go of. Even though my path will not appear as I expected, my passion for badminton will never fade. I have reached this far to give up now. Someday, I would like to meet the legend himself directly and probably take a picture or two.