Liek Hou sparkles and others shine off the sporting field

OH, how Botswana’s  4x400m relay quartet celebrated.

It was pouring but they had been on fire, beating the highly vaunted United States to the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday. 

The quartet, led by reigning 400m world champion Collen Kebinatshipi, were also the first ever African winners of the event. 

Thrilled, Botswana president Duma Gideon Boko has announced a public holiday tomorrow, the day before the country’s independence day, to honour Kebinatshipi and Co. 

“I’ll be sure to tell everyone, Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground. They are our world champion athletes,” he gushed.

Malaysia too had their first mixed doubles world champions last month when Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei put up a ruthless show to win the title in Paris on National Day.

The next day was a public holiday, albeit a scheduled one. 

This week, I felt like we deserved another public holiday – not because of any outstanding show in the arena, but more for what they did off it. 

Okay, maybe not a public holiday, but a huge pat on the back would be nice, too. 

Paralympic champion Cheah Liek Hou, for instance, stood tall this week not only for fighting for his right but for his teammates too.

It took courage for him to speak out via his social media against the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) for the delay in giving out incentives promised to him a year ago after his exploits at the Paris Games.

It’s always tough to go against the system but Liek Hou did not back down. He spoke his mind. He spoke the truth.

Very often, athletes are silenced when they voice out their grouses. There were also attempts to stifle Liek Hou’s voice but they did not work. 

His resilience paid off as PCM finally made a partial payment, although it was not full, as one of their sponsors backed out. 

Others stepped in – and Liek Hou got more than he wanted.

Of course, the situation is still tense but peace will prevail, I believe. 

There was another person who stepped out during this “war” - Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.  

She could have kept quiet. After all, it was a matter between PCM and the athlete.

But true to her job, she took Liek Hou under her wings. 

Thanks to her intervention, a threat to ban Liek Hou from competing in major Games was dropped and sponsors took the initiative to support the athlete by reaching out to the Sports Ministry.

I guess every athlete in this country now feels secure knowing that if they are in the right, they can count on Hannah to back them. 

That’s not all. Hannah went ballistic when she found out about a bullying case against a student at the National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) in Miri, Sarawak, on Sept 19. 

An immediate investigation was launched and seven students were suspended from their studies for a week. Big or small, there is no place for bullies under the Ministry’s care. 

The Malaysian Olympians Association (MOA) have also gone out of their way to help out yesteryear athletes who were promised rewards but were ignored for many decades.

Today, MOA, led by their president Noraseela Khalid, a former national hurdler, has planned for a gathering for these athletes. 

MOA may not have funds to give but these athletes will be honoured. I’m sure they will feel appreciated. After all, they had done us proud in the past. 

The Badminton Association of Malaysia too have taken the initiative to send a comforting message to their former player and coach Wong Tat Meng, who is slowly recovering from a horrific motorcycle accident in Sydney recently. 

In fact, they are willing to extend help if needed. These kind deeds, courageous acts, and bravery in the midst of adversities all deserve to be celebrated. 

Unlike Botswana, we may not have diamonds in the ground, but we sure have a few athletes and officials who shine like one. 

Let’s keep shining on and off the court.

*The writer also sends her condolences to another gem of an athlete, bowler Rafiq Ismail. His father passed away on Thursday, yet he fought bravely through his grief to win the Samho Cup in South Korea yesterday, dedicating his triumph to his late father.