TWO prominent Malaysian athletes – gymnasts Farah Ann Abdul Hadi and high jumper Lee Hup Wei bid farewell to their respective sports last month for different reasons. Farah decided to end her more than a decade-long career while Hup Wei did not make the cut for his last SEA Games fling, ending his 18-year career.

THERE is no world badminton champion. There is no Olympic Games gold medal winner. The wait for football glory, even at regional level, continues.

AS a mixed doubles pair, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying have touched the pinnacle of success and then, have seen themselves come crashing.So, they really know what it’s all about.

FORMER badminton great Rexy Mainaky is back in Malaysia – and he has brought back a gush of memories. He is a nice guy – I remember that as a farewell for him the last time around, some of us sports journalists played badminton for fun together with him.

IT was 2018 in Bangkok. I watched in dismay as Malaysia collapsed to a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Indonesia in the Thomas Cup quarter-finals.

WHAT a cruel blow for para athlete Mohd Ziyad Zolkefli in his second Paralympics.

WATCHING the recently-concluded US Olympics selection trials gave me goosebumps for several reasons.

DENMARK’S Christian Eriksen collapsed on the football field. Indonesia’s Markis Kido slumped on the badminton court.

EVERY year, the announcement on the budget for the Youth and Sports Ministry will draw different reactions but the one allocated in 2014 received a thunderous applause.The total amount breached the billion ringgit mark when it was increased from RM700mil to RM1bil.

MALAYSIA a powerhouse in badminton in two years?

IT’S really a sad state of affairs.

BACK in 2011, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek was the Sports Minister. At his behest, a team of experts came here from the University of Stirling.