Friday 24 March 2006

A few more golds for me today, pls!

UPDATE: YES! YES! YES! (in the manner of that fruity shampoo advert!) Both Chong Wei and Choong Hann made it to the finals!!! And what does that mean? Malaysia BOLEH! Malaysia BOLEH!

Almost every evening
after a decent grace between Quran class and a bit of homework, we’d gather in front of Mak Bashah’s house. The ones who got there early would put up the make shift net, tying one end to the coconut tree edging toward’s Ah Gek’s house and the other end to one of the stilts of Mak Bashah’s wooden house. Her compound, when it wasn’t a badminton court, was also where we played rounders and hopscotch. The problem was, if someone was to hit a high ball, we’d have to use the same stick that we used to get the jambu, to retrieve our shuttle cock.

That was my only experience with badminton. I had never excelled in it, nor takenthe trouble to properly understand the game. And with what little knowledge I had, I was soon to cover the All England Badminton in Birmingham for several years, watching badminton greats such as the Sidek brothers, Soon Kit, Ewe Hock and Wan Wah and many others from other countries. After the games, with fever pitch enthusiasm, the group of us covering the game, would return to London and book ourselves a badminton court every Sunday – but the sessions usually ended with a trip to Southall for a bit of lamb briani and tandoori.

Just now – just a few hours ago, I watched Wong Choong Hann and Lee Chong Wei sail through to the semi finals at the Commonwealth games. Choong Wah looked tired and gave us a few tense moments when his Singaporean opponent caught up with him but with Chong Wei, although Anup from India tried his very best, it was smooth sailing. It was nice to hear one of the commentators say, “When we talk about Chong Wei, we are talking about class!”

I just hope that they bring back the gold! At this very moment we have only three. It is occassions like this when we rally around to cheer for the home country, that we feel a sense of belonging. I remember the cheering crowd at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham cheering on our players, waving the Malaysian flags and singing every patriotic song they could remember. It was wonderful. I remember the time when Malaysia was already in the semi finals playing Indonesia. Half the stadium was filled with Malaysian supporters and what a noisy lot we were! Those were the pre-Malaysia Boleh days.

The last few days, watching the game on TV, shouts of Malaysia Boleh filled the air once again. One commentator said, what a noisy lot the Malaysians are! Hahaha! I certainly agree with that. The shouts of Malaysia Boleh that cheered Malik Mydin across the English Channel are still ringing in my ears and I believe they are still echoing around the white cliff of Dover.

Well, all the best to our players and just for today, bring me back a few more golds, eh?

25 comments:

Nazrah Leopolis said...

You sound very much like Tun Siti Hasmah when it comes to badminton.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Mutiara said...

Happy Birthday Girl!!

Count Byron said...

Ah Gek, Mak Bashah... interwoven with Wong Choong Wah and Lee Chong Wei as they sail through to the semi finals at the Commonwealth games.. succint! beautiful! sweet.
Thanks kak Teh

JoeBangla said...

Happy Birthday Kak Teh , Many Happy Returns Of The Day

pawaka1 said...

malaysia boleh

sue said...

kak teh:
happy birthday..sweet..??

Angah said...

happy birthday, kak teh!! may your wish for the golds are granted :-)
many happy returns of the day.. moga panjang umur, murah rezeki. amin.

lieawulf said...

happy birthday! ^__^

Kak Teh said...

nazrah, thank you fr a beautiful dedication.
mutiara - thanks to u too.
count byron, nice to see you back. well, mak bashah did or rather provided a lot to train us athlete wannabes!
joe - terima kasih..hoe bila?
pawaka - tentu sekali!

Kak Teh said...

traveler and anakmalaya and lieawulf- all i ask now for my children to be anak-anak yang soleh and beriman. That will be the greatest gift - and for my mother to be well.

Jane Sunshine said...

It's your Birthday? Happy, Happy Birthday!!! And here's for gold medals too.

eyeris said...

for me, Badminton is definitely a game to be PLAYED, not WATCHED. haha. I can never sit down to watch a badminton match properly. I'd get itchy hands and wanna play as well. haha

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday kak Teh :)

nadya.s said...

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAK (MAK) TEH!!!

hugs and kisses ~ all the way from cyberjaya.

Blabarella said...

It's your birthday, it's your birthday!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

May Allah bless you with good health and infinite happiness!!!

Luv luv luv,
Blabs & MrD

AuntyN said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAK TEH
Selamat Panjang Umur
Murah Rezeki
Kekal "blur" sepanjang masa ye :-)

Hugs and kisses to you.

thewailer said...

happy birthday, kak teh! badminton players have become national icons nowadays and they put some pride in fellow Malaysians (provided they keep on winning!) hehe

Kak Teh said...

jane, hope u are better now - see u next week.
eyeriz - i cant play lah!! So i just enjoy the game.
mat and nadya - thanks.
blabs and wyn - Amin - thanks for the doas.

Kak Teh said...

N - nanti kita balik celebrate.
the wailer - we are assyered of gold and silver in male single but RIGT NOW - mixed double suffering at the hands of the singapreans.

Arena said...

Happy birthday kak Teh...

Kak Teh said...

arena, kak teh ucapkan terima kasih!

Lydia Teh said...

KT, finally I can access your blog without getting kicked out. I'd been trying to come here but each time I do so, Firefox said it has encountered a problem and must close. I got so fed up, after a few tries I stopped. Just picked up the courage again to come here and hurray, boleh.

Yes, Msia BOleh! So glad badminton made history this time. Badminton is my favourite game. If you had seen the Famemas members in action, lagi riuh rendah the stadium will be especially if Mansor is around.

Lydia Teh said...

Selamat hari jadi. Sudah tambah berapa rambut uban?

ety said...

KT,
HEPI BESDAY.......2 U
HEPI BESDAY 2 U.....
HEPI BESDAY 2 U...KAK TEH..
HEPI BESDAY 2 U.....

mak ety

bibliobibuli said...

malaysia did so well ... am proud ...

and yes, happy beleated birthday