Skills win you medals, but attitude wins hearts. - ESPN commentator [credibility to be confirmed]In the eyes of people who love the sport, he is the true champion. - David Mercer of BBC on Lee Chong Wei [credibility to be confirmed]
Yesterday Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan battled it out in London 2012 Olympic badminton men's singles final match. Small wonder when I was driving my way home the roads were so empty.
My family and I had a very quick dinner, cleaned up and stayed glued to the telly. During the first set I sensed that Lin Dan was holding back, letting Chong Wei score first and then only beating him back. There was quite a lot of "out"s from Lin Dan. Either he was too forceful or there was a wind blowing behind his back. Chong Wei played very well, committing few mistakes and winning the first set 21-15.
The second set was more intense than the first. This time around Lin Dan unstoppered his full might but Chong Wei deftly and calmly deflected Lin Dan's quick powerful shots. It was as though both of them were dancing a choreographed sequence. Left, right, up, down, everywhere. However Chong Wei was losing some of his concentration and fell for some of Lin Dan's tricks. Errors piled up. Now it was Lin Dan's turn to dominate the court. Eventually Chong Wei gave up chasing the score so that he could conserve some energy for the third set. Lin Dan won the second set 21-10.
My eyelids were crashing down again, too tired after attending my uni's 30-Hour Famine DIY camp. My excitement of watching this match was only slowly building and I struggled to stay awake. Chong Wei and Lin Dan danced even more furiously during the third set. For a while it seemed that Chong Wei was leading, but roughly halfway through the set Lin Dan came springing back and tied it up. Chong Wei led 19-18 but then he let the shuttle pass him, and it landed in! The final blow came when Chong Wei's shot dropped long and Lin Dan won 21-19.
Lin Dan went bananas after that (I'm sure I don't need to describe the way he celebrated his win). Chong Wei sat dejectedly on the floor and received Lin Dan's hugs only half-heartedly.
Chong Wei gave his very best, with much improved skills and an excellent attitude. Previously when he took on Lin Dan his face would be ashen white. This time he was so much more calmer and you could see his eyes were focused, determined. A silver medal is still a recognition and a great achievement, especially so when you take into account the last Olympic silver. There you go: winning two consecutive silvers - Olympic silver, mind you!
Playing second fiddle is never a good feeling. There will be regrets, there will be replaying of scenes, there will the "what if"s - but know this, Chong Wei, you have done us proud! So proud! You have fought a good fight even though you still have your injury with you and had only minimal training time. You did not lose, because you never quit and somebody else simply won. You've won us a silver (our first medal in this edition of the Games) and you've won us over with your determination, passion, dedication and attitude, so please don’t say you’re sorry - you have done no wrong. We should be sorry instead, for placing such a burden in the form of "expectation" on your shoulders and for raving mad about free ice-creams as well as national holiday. Thanks to you, our Jalur Gemilang was hoisted in London.
Hand on heart, I thank you Lee Chong Wei.
[Pics sourced from Facebook and Tumblr]
