Sports has a way of bringing together our nation despite of all the differences, political problems and oh ya, the GLOBAL PANDEMIC! We all gather in front of our televisions or our phones and as one nation, cheering on and supporting the Malaysian teams competing who have trained so hard over the years. That is pure patriotism.
Let’s take a look at all the Malaysia’s previous Olympic Medal Winners and reminisce about the days when we could go to the mamak with friends and enjoy a nice teh o limau ais while cheering loudly together when these champions won:
1. Razif Sidek and Jalani Sidek
Anyone who like badminton will definitely be familiar with the Sidek Brothers, Misbun, Razif, Jalani, Rahman and Rashid who were inspired by their father and coach Sidek Abdullah Kamar to participate in badminton.
Out of all the brothers, two of them, Razif Sidek and Jalani Sidek won the men’s doubles bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The brothers are the ones you created the signature S-serve or Sidek-serve which is one of the trickiest serves to return that the International Badminton Federation had to ban it.
2. Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock
These champions managed to win the silver medal for the men’s doubles at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Cheah Soon Kit was famous all around the world for his impressive jumping smash making him one of the top doubles stars in the world at that time.
In the most nail-biting final game, they managed to defeat Rexy Mainaky and Ricky Subagja of Indonesia in the first round with a score of 15-5, but the Indonesian pair managed to make an impressive comeback winning the next two rounds with the score of 13–15 and 12–15.
3. Rashid Sidek
The youngest among the Sidek brothers, Rashid Sidek who was also known as jaguh kampung was once ranked as the top three badminton players in the world. He was the other Sidek Brother who won the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
4. Lee Chong Wei
Lee Chong Wei is Malaysia’s three-time Olympics silver medal winner in the badminton men’s singles in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was also the world’s number 1 badminton player for over year!
Unfortunately, after being diagnosed with nose cancer, Malaysia’s favourite badminton player had to retire.
5. Pandelela Rinong
In the 2012 London Olympics, Pandelela Rinong was only 15 years old, and she managed to win the bronze medal in the women's 10 metre platform diving event. Later on, she partnered up with Cheong Jun Hoong in the women's synchronised 10 metre platform diving event, winning the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
6. Cheong Jun Hoong
Did you know that Jun Hoong became Malaysia’s first diving world champion after winning the gold medal in the 10m platform event after winning at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships? Well, now you know.
Besides that, she also won the silver medal with Pandelela Rinong in the 2016 Rio Olympics’ in the women's synchronised 10 metre platform diving event.
7. Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong
This compatible pair have been partners since the 2014 Thomas Cup who returned home from the 2014 Commonwealth Games with the gold medals in hand.
The chemistry and the way these two effortlessly worked so well together in the court made them succeed at the Asian games, guaranteeing them a place in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
After an incredible match, they returned home from the 2016 Olympics with silver medals.
8. Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying
This mixed doubles badminton pair was consistently ranked among the top-ten pairs in the whole world. Paired together since 2009 at the Vietnam open where they managed to win the silver medal then later winning the 2010 Badminton Asia Championships.
In the 2012 London Olympics, they made history when they became the first ever Malaysian mixed doubles to qualify for the Olympics.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, the pair came won the silver medal behind the victorious Indonesian pair.
9. Azizulhasni Awang
Leaving the world and Malaysians in shock after winning bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Azizulhasni has definitely made us think twice before second guessing anyone ever again. He was the first Malaysian track cyclist to win a medal at the Olympic Games.
He is also nicknamed “The Pocket Rocketman”! Let’s take a second and acknowledge how amazing that nickname is. The reason behind this nickname is due to his small stature.
We look forward to seeing him on the tracks in this years Tokyo Olympics.
10. Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik
Just a couple of days ago in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this pair managed to win the bronze medal after beating world number 2 Indonesia's Setiawan and Ahsan in a suspenseful game that lasted for 52 minutes.
The score of the games was 21-17, 17-21, 21-14. Congratulations to Aaron Chia and Wook Yik! We are so proud of you and honestly, you guys are amazing!
