Second time round, the two titans of the badminton arena meet again at the London Olympics. The last time they fought the battle in the same game was in 2008, Beijing and homeboy Lin Dan of China won.
Last night, almost every Malaysian (and China's population) in the world are tuned into the sports channel for the Men's singles finals between Lee Chong Wei & Lin Dan. One of the most anticipated matches in the Olympic games. It was intense as the score was neck to neck. Going through my Facebook wall feeds while watching the game at the same time, everyone on my list were rooting for Dato' Lee Chong Wei. Hopes were high. It would be Malaysia's first ever gold if Lee Chong Wei wins. But come the 2nd match, it was for Lin Dan. The 3rd match was it. Spectator's hearts were thumping, shrills of nervousness, palms sweaty...everyone was tensed. But alas, history repeated itself and Lin Dan won yet again. It was devastating to watch Lee Chong Wei drop to his knees and his coaches comfort him. That was it. His last chance to play at the Olympics, his last try for gold. He felt that he has disappointed his country when he tweeted twice saying "I'm sorry" & "Thank you everyone. I'm sorry I could not get gold"
But nonetheless, he has without a doubt already won the gold. He did not disappoint us, he won our hearts. As the ESPN commentator said "Skills win you medals, but attitude wins hearts". We know he carried the entire nations hopes in winning that first gold. He was such a patriot when he said that he cried when he could not get to hear the national anthem Negaraku played at the Wembley stadium.
Dato', you have done us proud. You gave your opponent a good fight. It was indeed worth all your effort. You are our hero.
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