Malaysia’s mixed doubles badminton team were the first to ever win a medal in that particular category for Malaysia. The duo, Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon, defeated China’s Xu Chen-Ma Jin 21-12, 21-19 in the semi-final match and marched to the finals, where they bagged silver.
Goh Liu Ying, who went against all odds to be there in the badminton mixed doubles final, decided to make a heartfelt confession on Facebook, narrating her ups and downs, until the moment she stood on that podium with her silver medal.
Here’s her inspiring Facebook post:
An Olympic medal, to me, was a distant dream. To be able to stand on the Olympic podium was a fantasy.
I was the first batch of Malaysia’s mixed doubles team. In the early days, Malaysia’s mixed doubles teams were put together impromptu, without real planning.
At that time, Malaysia’s focus was only on the men’s singles and men’s doubles teams. Malaysians were also only interested in men badminton players.
Two years ago, for the sake of performing in the Olympics, I underwent surgery to repair both of my damaged knees.
In the beginning the goal was to perform in the group stage. Then, when we got into the semi-finals, I thought that maybe we may have a chance at a bronze medal.
When we won the semi-finals, I felt like I was in a dream. Did I really win? Is this not a dream? I have dreamt for many times how great a feeling it would be to be able to stand on the podium.
In the finals, we faced the Indonesian team which was in strong form, and we did not perform up to expectations. Many people hoped that we could go for Malaysia’s first gold Olympic medal but regrettably, we couldn’t put up a good match.
Standing on the podium and seeing the moment our country’s flag was raised, I teared up. I could only dream of this moment, I never thought it could happen.
We entered the Olympics in eighth place, there were so many opponents who were better than us.
I am just Goh Liu Ying. I did not have such remarkable achievements like the Chinese team, I did not have the steady performance of the Korean team, I did not have the tactical strategy of the European teams nor did I have the experience of the Indonesian team. I am just Goh Liu Ying.
I was not born with the body of an athlete. When others completed the training set by our coach, I could only complete half of the training.
I couldn’t build up my muscles like the other athletes. With smaller muscles, there is less protection and my chances of injuries increase.
As I have undergone surgery, I also could not overexert myself during training. The strength of both my legs is also lesser, compared to others.
I am Goh Liu Ying. I am the Rio Olympics badminton mixed doubles silver medalist. This makes me proud for the rest of my life*.
We are so proud of you, Goh Liu Ying, you are such an inspiration to all aspiring female athletes in Malaysia and possibly all around the world. Keep doing what you’re doing!
*This post was translated from Mandarin to English by Malaysiakini.
