One more shot at gold

Silver or gold, Malaysia remains proud of the medal Goh V Shem (left) and Tan Wee Kiong won.

SO close yet so far. At the end, it was a matter of nerves for Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong who were narrowly defeated by China’s Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan during the Rio Olympic Games men’s doubles final.

The whole of Malaysia is disappointed, especially since the match went to the wire.

As it stands now, we have three silver and one bronze. We are guaranteed one more medal. Silver or gold will depend on no one else but Lee Chong Wei.

It is time for him to go one up from his two previous silvers. His semi-final against the mighty Lin Dan, just like the men’s doubles match – was not good for the heart.

I caught the game with my wife at a kiosk in a mall. It was being shown on a laptop and everyone was crowding around it. Young or old, there were only Malaysians. No Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazan or Iban. Just Malaysians. All probably had heart problems in the third set of the match. And all were cheering and high-fiving the person next to them when Lee finally ended Lin Dan’s run in Rio.

I can guess that it happened anywhere there was a television in public. Nothing like sports to unite, as they say. It’s not going to be easy for Lee against Chen Long, who easily defeated Dane Victor Axelsen in the other semi-final. It’s going to be 50-50.

Whatever happens tomorrow, Malaysia has done very well. No one would have predicted this haul of medals. But I guess nothing glitters like gold.

Maybe it is destiny that Lee will win that first ever Olympics gold. May we hear theNegaraku playing for the first time at the Olympics. We are all behind you Chong Wei.