PETALING JAYA: It has been more than three decades, but the joy of Malaysia’s victory in the Thomas Cup back in 1992 remains etched in the memories of many.
It was a time when there was no internet or instant communication, and readers had to wait till morning to read about it. But the folks in The Star worked well into the wee hours of the morning to ensure the readers were told the historic story.
The Star also decided to go one step further by preparing a special four-page pullout on the eve of the final, without even knowing whether Malaysia would actually win.
It was Malaysia’s stunning semi-final victory over China on May 12, 1992, that sparked it all.
Moments after the win, then sports editor Ng Weng Tuck stood beside chief sub-editor N. Dorairaj, the two hatching an ambitious plan.
An avid badminton enthusiast, Weng Tuck was confident that Malaysia would go on to beat Indonesia – who had trounced South Korea in the other semi-final – to lift the coveted Cup after a 29-year-wait.
As soon as the semi-final ended, Ng told the sports desk that he wanted a four-page special supplement that would tell the story of Malaysia’s badminton success – and everyone got down to work.
As chief sub editor of the Sports Desk, Dorairaj then got the reporters to research everything that was needed – the past history, the team of champions, the years of work and the coaches and managers who made it all happen.
“The team worked late into the night to plan for the special, which even had a caveat attached – if Malaysia were to lose in the final, the supplement would not see print. It would be hard work wasted. But we were game,” said Dorairaj, who is The Star’s consulting editor now.
“The printing department had to be roped in. They would need different configurations in the printing depending on whether Malaysia won or lost. They were very helpful.
“They knew the nation stood on the verge of an historic feat and were willing to wait with us.”
Dorairaj said the long wait and long hours were worth it.
“At 7pm on May 16, the final began. At the desk, we had closed all the other pages and were just waiting for the Thomas Cup final to start, all glued to the small black and white television near the desk,” he said.
“Many from other sections also huddled at the sports desk. It was the mini-Stadium Negara of The Star,” he added.
Rashid Sidek made hard work of the first singles and ultimately prevailed over Ardy Wiranata after the rubber, but his brothers left everyone shocked and downcast.
Razif-Jalani, touted as one of the best pairs in the world, lost in the first doubles to Rudy Gunawan-Eddy Hartono.
Malaysia had banked on the first singles and both doubles – and that defeat was devastating. But up stepped Foo Kok Keong, who had lost tamely in the semi-finals against China.
What a fight the veteran put up, diving everywhere to return every shot Alan Budi Kusuma could throw at him.
When Kok Keong won in straight games, Weng Tuck was all smiles.
Malaysia needed just one more point. And Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang duly delivered, also after a three-game battle against Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky.
Kwan Yoke Meng lost in the third singles but who cared. All of Malaysia was already celebrating – except the sports desk.
“There was no time for celebration at the desk. Even before Yoke Meng entered the court, we were hard at work putting together the paper for the next day,” added Dorairaj.
At Stadium Negara, ST Arasu, then a rookie sports journalist who had been on the job for just seven months, got to watch history unfold and to chronicle it too.
“The moment when Soon Kit-Beng Kiang picked up the stunning winning point is still fresh in my mind,” he said.
“It was well past midnight and everyone at the stadium was on the edge. It was a do-or-die match as we knew Joko Suprianto would certainly win the third singles.
“The partisan fans were screaming, urging the Malaysian duo on. Even journalists in the media room were caught up in the frenzy. I had to fight the urge to join in.
“We were way past deadline for the paper to go to print and I was just wishing for the match to end so I could send my report.”
When the Malaysian pair won, the entire stadium erupted in cheers but Arasu was bent over his computer, completely ignoring the dead third singles between Joko and Yoke Meng.
“Even after finishing the copy, there was no time for celebrations as we needed to get reactions from the triumphant players and officials.
“They were all emotionally charged, so it was hard to get them to talk,” he said.
Then, it was a rush back to the office to update the stories.
“I left the office at 4.30am and after a couple of hours of sleep it was another rush to Banting, where a grand celebration was being held at home of the Sideks.”
As he was writing about it, sports editor Ng came by and said: “Arasu, I don’t know what you have. But I want you to make sure that tomorrow when people read the paper, they should have tears in their eyes.”
The next day, many did.
Photographer Ng Kok Leong also recalled the chaotic scenes at the office.
“The pressure was immense for the photo team to deliver the historic moment, while our photographers, led by SS Kanesan, were still stranded at the stadium.
“It was the era of black-and-white printed photographs. There were no emails and no mobile phones as we only had pagers.
“That meant we had to send a staff member to collect the film from our photographers at the stadium.
“Without phones, we had to search for our photographer through the massive crowd,” said Kok Leong, who was 28 at the time and only recently retired as The Star’s photo editor.
“Once we received the film bag, we rushed back to process it. We then had to print the photos and dry them. Everything was completed within 30 minutes at the office.
“What a day it was. First, our hearts were racing while watching the match and then, it was like having heart attacks as we processed the photos just to meet the deadline.
“But the joy of seeing the photographers’ hard work pay off – with their pictures splashed across the front and back pages of the newspaper – made it all worthwhile,” he said.
“We are the Champions”, screamed the Page One headline.
“Malaysian Heroes”, the back page shouted with the one fact that mattered – 12.36am, May 17: Thomas Cup returns to KL.
All at the desk had worked from around noon on May 16 to well past 4am on May 17. But as they packed up for home, there were no tired souls, only happy faces.
Because now, everyone at The Star could finally celebrate, too.
It was a 25-year wait then. And it has been 34 years since. How much longer do we need to wait before that excitement happens again?
