The Real Malaysian Idols

Nicol David just won the KL Squash Open today and Lee Chong Wei was last week the singles champion of the All England badminton. I consider these two as true Malaysian sports idols. They are World No. 1 in their respective fields but that’s not the reason why I adore them. I love them because they are the template for true sports heroes. Both have all the attributes I imagine in a champion. Good attitude, good fighting spirit, very competitive, very focus and above all, they consistently display inspiring persona of true champions.

Chong Wei fighting spirit is admirable

I love watching these two on TV. I know both will not disappoint me no matter whether they win or lose. Lee Chong Wei lost miserably in the Olympic final, but I was okay with it because I knew he gave his best against Lin Dan. And as we expected, he has bounced back hungrier than before. Nicole has been consistent in winning most tournaments but she too had some losing spell last year. But it did not seem to affect her focus en route to winning the KL title. How does she do it maintaining her No.1 title almost unbroken for 5 years? Incredible feat isn’t it?

Nicol in action dominating her opponent

How do they get to become who they are? I do not personally know these two personalities. I only heard details from the game commentators and news I read in the newspapers about what kind of training regime such champions go through. The sacrifices they make, including personal ones. Blood, sweat and tears that they have shed to arrive at the highest pedestal’s of their sports. As I watched Chong Wei when he went around the arena celebrating his hard fought win in the final against his Japanese opponent, I felt proud and elated to see a true Malaysian idol.

If you look at these two individuals, they seem to be really humble and down to earth. They are not arrogant in their speech, and above all, they are very much respected all around, even by their opponents. So Malaysian, we should seek individuals like these to become our idols. Forget Malaysian Idols, AF, Mentor…… and the likes (I don’t even want to list Bintang Kecil……don’t even want to get started). Save your energy, reserve your cheers and screams for real idols like Lee Chong Wei and Nicol David.

These are the real Malaysian Idols

The latest photo of the Real Malaysian Idol "borrowed" from Nicol's FB