For shuttler Goh Liu Ying, winning a medal in the Olympics was a "distant dream".
Yet, it all came true on Wednesday when Goh and her partner, Chan Peng Soon made history by bagging the silver medal in the badminton's mixed doubles category in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
The 27-year-old athlete from Malacca took to Facebook yesterday to share her heartfelt thoughts on her journey to the Rio Olympics.
“To me, an Olympic medal, was a distant dream, it is like a fantasy to be able to stand on the Olympic podium." she wrote in Mandarin.
“I was the first batch of the country’s mixed doubles team. In the past, mixed doubles teams were made up in an ad hoc manner, there were only men's singles and men's doubles team and Malaysians are were only interested in men's badminton players.
“Two years ago, I underwent knee surgeries for both by legs in order to perform in the Olympics.
“In the beginning, our goal was to win in the group stage. When we got into the semi-finals, I thought that maybe we stand a chance of getting a bronze medal.
“I felt like I was in a dream when we won the semi-finals. Did I really win? Is this a dream? Countless times, I have been imagining of one day being able to stand on the winners’ podium, how good it would have felt,"
Goh said many Malaysians had hoped she and Chan would be able to win the country's first Olympic gold against Indonesians Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir and regretted that they were not able to do so.
“We went up against a better-formed Indonesia team...we did not perform as expected. Many people were hoping that we get the first gold medal for the country, but regrettably, we could not put on a good game,"
Nonetheless, she said that it was an emotional moment seeing the Jalur Gemilang being hoisted up that day.
“The moment when I was standing on the podium and seeing the Jalur Gemilang being raised, I teared up. I could only dream of this moment and never thought it could happen.
“We went to the Olympics in eighth place, there were many opponents who were better than us.
“I am just Goh Liu Ying, I did not have a good track record like the Chinese team; I did not have the steady performance as the South Koreans; I did not have a tactical strategy as the European team; I did not have the experiences like Indonesian team. I am just Goh Liu Ying.
“I was not born an athlete. When others completed the training set by the coach, I could only finish half of the training.
“I don't have well developed muscles as other athletes which makes easier for me to get injured.
“As I had undergone surgery, I can't overexert myself during training. The strength on my legs are also lesser than others.
“I am God Liu Ying, I am the Rio Olympics badminton mixed doubles silver medallist. This will make me proud for the rest of my life.” she said.
Source -NST Online-
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