Heartbreak. Despair.
While my social updates are being flooded with encouragement messages sent to our nation hero, even as he came close to have clinched the very first gold medal for our country, I feel his despair. In the battle of the best, as always there will be only one winner. Be it down to skills, strength, knowledge, or pure luck, no one remembers a runner up. I’ve had my fair share of losing as well, tho not on such a scale where 28 millions Malaysians cheering upon me, but I know exactly how it felt like. The pain of defeat pierced through your heart as years of effort being flushed down the drain in the matter of minutes. It’s beyond description, and no matter how you want to forget about it, the memories linger. And just as you have moved on in life, it strikes you on the earth and pulls you back down to Earth. Silver medalists see themselves as the first loser, while bronze medalists see themselves as the last winner.
And so to have put up a fight of your life in shouldering a nation’s expectation, here’s my salutation to you, Dato’ Lee Chong Wei.