She is the first Malaysian and Asian to win it, breaking down barriers and smashing the belief that some things can only be achieved by a certain group of people.
The veteran showed that with hard work, perseverance and steely determination, you can always chase a dream – and dreams do come true.
While she achieved greatness at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, a newbie also broke barriers across the Atlantic – at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
On Thursday night, young shuttler Ng Tze Yong stood tall on a different stage and tore the script apart.
The scrawny chap produced an Oscar-worth performance to do what had seemed impossible – he felled the giant Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 21-15, 9-21, 23-21 at the All-England.
Axelsen is no ordinary scalp. He is the Olympic Games champion, world No. 1, defending champion and has been so dominant that he had only been beaten by three other players over the last one year.
Now Tze Yong, has joined the list of giantslayers.
What made it all the more sweeter was that it was Tze Yong’s All-England debut and his first meeting against the Dane in an international stage.
The manner he won it could have put any Oscar nominee movie to shame – it was an action-packed thriller with a fairytale ending.
Honestly, when Axelsen caught up from 15-19 to lead 20-19 in the rubber, I didn’t believe Tze Yong could nick it.
I thought he would crumble like many others before as Axelsen is experienced and has the mental capacity to handle tense situations like this.
Thankfully, Tze Yong believed in himself more.
And he delivered what is, for now, his biggest win. And at 22, he has a long career ahead of him.
This win could truly be a huge turning point for Tze Yong - and I hope his journey will be positive all the way.
Whatever the outcome for Tze Yong in the All-England from this point onwards - and whether he wins or loses – let’s be wise about it.
Celebrate but know the limit. Don’t overdo it. Keep the politics and the politicians away.
We can criticise if he loses but it needs to be constructive – words that build but do not tear down.
These players are not high-level culprits who steal the people’s money in millions. They don’t deserve the nasty remarks on social media. They work hard for a decent living.
Tze Yong can take a leaf from the manner Axelsen handles himself after every defeat and success. He is humble after every win and stays gracious to his opponents in every defeat.
Tze Yong can also learn from the trials faced by his teammates – the 2021 All-England champion Lee Zii Jia and world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik – who are now struggling with issues of confidence and consistency after some great successes.
Getting to the top is very tough. Staying there is even harder. But it’s not impossible.
It takes self-belief, hard work, humility and importantly, our consistent support to them even through ups and downs.
Michelle can attest to that. She has had many ups and downs, retiring in 1987 before making a comeback in 1992 and even being deported from Myanmar.
But she was gritty to the last.
You cannot win everything, everywhere and all at once. But if you keep at it, you can win regularly enough.
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