Gathering of greats: (from left) Datuk Shalin Zulkifli, Datuk Nicol David, Yayuk Basuki and Shanti Pereira at the Asean Women in Sports Conference in Subang Jaya.
SUBANG JAYA: Four sporting greats – Datuk Nicol David, Shanti Pereira, Yayuk Basuki and Datuk Shalin Zulkifli may be athletes of different eras but these women have one common trait – they are inspiring individuals.
Yesterday, these stars took the centrestage in the Asean Women in Sports Conference in Subang Jaya, as they shared their stories of resilience, hope and empowerment.
Taking on the role of moderator, bowling legend Shalin facilitated an engaging discussion with eight-time squash world champion Nicol, Singapore’s Asian Games sprint diva Shanti and Indonesia’s former tennis great Yayuk.
They were part of a three-day conference organised by the National Sports Council (NSC), which was attended by 210 participants.
When Shalin was introducing the panels, she highlighted that Nicol was known as the Dynamite (and Energiser Bunny to some of us) during her playing days while Yayuk was the Jaguar of Asia. What about Shanti?
“I don’t have one as I’m not a legend like the others yet,” said the modest 27-year-old.
But it will not be too wrong to call Shanti the Lion of Asia for her outstanding achievement at the recent Asiad in Hangzhou, where she ended the country’s 49-year wait for a gold medal in the 200m. She nearly achieved a double when she came in second in the 100m.
But she almost sunk into oblivion after winning the 2015 SEA Games gold in Singapore.
“It was a big thing to win at home but I lost focus after that, I got a bit arrogant. I then feared to even approach the starting block as I didn’t want to disappoint anyone,” she recalled.
“I was called a one-hit wonder and not good enough but I learnt later not to listen to all these.
“It was my journey and I knew I had people who believed in me. The change of mindset brought me back to success.
“My coach played a big role in turning my career around. Instead of being scared of pressure, I embraced it. Now I appreciate every small thing,” added Shanti, who believes training at home works fine for her.
For Nicol, her coach also played a significant role. And she made great strides under former world No. 2 Liz Irving of Australia.
“She (Irving) was the one who really turned my game around from a struggling junior to becoming a top professional athlete,” said Nicol, who moved to Amsterdam with her coach when she was 18.
“It took me four years to become world No. 1 and win the world title, but in that four years, I started from zero because in order to be the best, I had to start from scratch.
“I had to break down all the bad habits, all the things that were holding me back and eventually I found my way to beat the top 10 players.
“When you have a good coach and a good mentor, it’s like you know they are taking you to the right path.”
Yayuk, who became the first Asian to win a WTA title in the early 90s, believes strongly in mental preparation. She did not only have to face tough opponents but had to beat stereotypes too to stand tall.
“The Europeans then did not think highly of Asian players and they did not even know where Indonesia was when I started.
“I was not overawed by my opponents, in fact, I worked hard to make my presence felt. Asians may be small in size but we have big hearts,” said Yayuk, who stands at 1.64m.
“And even when I went into coaching later, I told the youngsters not to walk with their heads down. Confidence is the key no matter who we face on the other side.”
After her retirement, Yayuk went into politics so that she can have a bigger say in decision making concerning sports and also help pump in funding into the game.
“We have to be in the system if we want to change the system,” she stressed.
Shalin, who had to fight injuries, fatigue and constant pressure to remain at the top of her game, shared many common traits with Nicol, Yayuk and Shanti but one thing that stood out was their resilience.
“All of us started out while we were young (Nicol and Yayuk at age five; Shalin and Shanti were nine). All of us have gone through ups and downs but it’s that strong will to persevere that kept us going.”
And they are not planning to stop.
Shalin, Nicol and Yayuk want to carry on to empower the younger generation while Shanti wants to keep breaking barriers to help women athletes continue shining on the world stage.
Now, that’s inspirational indeed.
