Sunday August 29, 2004

Malaysians bound to look back with too many ‘if only’

WHEN the dust settles on Athens - no, not on Athens, it’s an incredibly dusty city - when it settles on the Malaysian campaign in Athens, Malaysians will look back with many “if only ”.

If only Lee Wan Wah had not been rattled by the service judge.

If only he and Choong Tan Fook had kept their domination over the Korean silver-medal winning pair of Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sang.

If only Wong Choong Hann had not switched his game while having the upper hand over eventual champion Taufik Hidayat.

If only we had more Josiah Ngs.

Josiah produced the best Malaysian performance at Athens, finishing sixth in the keirin event – and then apologised profusely to the nation.

After he had crossed the line fifth – he was later relegated to sixth – Josiah said he wanted to apologise to the people of Malaysia “for not coming through for them”.

And Malaysians were rushing to congratulate him for a job done well.

That could well be the difference between a champion and an also-ran.

Josiah just will not accept being second best.

“Fourth, fifth, sixth, it doesn’t mean a thing to me,” he said after being told he had been relegated from fifth to sixth. “I didn’t get a medal. And that’s frustrating.”

The country’s badminton hopes, meanwhile, went crashing out early in the competition. And they claimed they had tried their best, some even blaming the draught in the hall.

Roslin Hashim refused to talk to the media and then sat all by himself, a handphone pressed to his ears. After the team and officials had all gone home, he was still sitting all alone in the stadium in frustration.

He had lost to Sony Dwi Kuncoro and his career could be at an end.

Tan Fook was a man lost, staring into space with no words for anyone. Wan Wah was disappointed but he had been at fault, being rattled by a judge who faulted his service.

Choong Hann blamed the draught. “The other day it blew this way and today, it blew the other way. My plans wents awry.”

It was a lame excuse. He had beaten Taufik 15-11 in the first game and was leading 5-0 in the second when he switched his game and allowed Taufik to come back.

Taufik won 15-7 and 15-9 in the next two games and went on to win the gold medal, taking his place where Choong Hann could have been standing.

Taekwondo exponent Elaine Teo was another disappointment.

Having shied from the media glare to keep her preparations on track, she had been expected to sail through to at least the semi-finals.

She fell after barely nine minutes of action in Athens, losing to an unknown Guatemalan.

The other Malaysians had not been expected to deliver medals.

But this was the Olympics. They should have at least been prepared to compete against the best and bring the best out of themselves.

Not one could even deliver a national record.

Sprinter Nazmizan Mohamed lost his heats and his head, Yuan Yufang said she was over-prepared and suffered pain in her legs. She joined her family in Athens.

Shooters Bernard Yeoh and Ricky Teh both went out early, archer Mon Redee Sut Txi was also an early casualty and the divers were never in the chase. Swimmer Lim Keng Liat promised only to disappoint. He finished eighth fastest in his heat but ended up 15th out of 16 in the semi-finals, failing to become the first Malaysian to ever swim in an Olympic finals.

Again, the excuses came fast and furious.

“He was the first Malaysian to qualify for swimming on merit. And he was the first to swim in the semis. So, that’s an achievement,” said Edwin Chong, secretary of the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia.

And, added Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Jaafar: “Medals aren’t everything. It’s not the end of the world.”

It was classic Malaysian mentality: Mediocrity is all right, so long as you are better than the average Malaysian. Who cares for continental supremacy or world supremacy?

Well, we know one guy who cares.

Josiah Ng came back from one the ugliest scenes the Malaysians had seen in the Olympics to finish among the best.

His coach left him in a lurch, alone and in tears after a defeat. The very next day, he bounced back to finish sixth best in the world.

And he refused to accept that as good enough.

If only more Malaysians could have that mentality, maybe things will be different in Beijing. And journalists could write happy stories.

And, sad to say, maybe it helps that Josiah was born in the Philippines and grew up in the US, not tainted by the Malaysian mentality.

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