How many of us will get to experience the Olympics in the midst of an ongoing pandemic? It was epic seeing the opening ceremony of the Games in an empty stadium, attended by contingents of participating countries. In the closing ceremony, Tokyo passed the baton to Paris after staging a Games that was delayed by Covid-19 and sceptical public, but nevertheless delivered its share of memorable moments.

That aside, all the athletes have done their best to represent their countries and to make their nation proud. Our Malaysian athletes are no exception. They came through, they fought their way through as hard as they can, and whatever happened, they did us proud. Although we did not achieve the numbers of medals, we got from Rio Olympic, it’s okay. We got to see new talents on the field and relive the positive excitements we so desperately need, especially after a tough year.    

This Olympic, we got to see some new faces, and some old ones. Here are some of the athletes that represented our country in the Olympics:

Lee Zii JiaBadminton
Sonia Cheah
Chan Peng Soon
Goh Liu Ying
Aaron Chia
Soh Wooi Yik
Chow Mei Kuan
Lee Meng Yean
Pandelela RinongDiving
Leong Mun Yee
Cheong Jun Hoong
Ng Yan Yee
Nur Dhabitah Sabri
Welson SimSwimming
Phee Jinq En
Shah FirdausCycling Track
Azizulhasni Awang
Khairul AnuarArchery
Syaqiera Mashayikh
Lee Hup WeiAthletics
Azreen Nabila
Gavin KyleGolf
Kelly Tan
Jeremiah LooArtistic Gymnastics
Farah Ann
Khairulnizam Mohd AfendySailing
Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif
Nuraisyah Jamil
Juni Kamariah Noor Jamali

This year, our medals are contributed by Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik from the badminton men’s doubles; as well as Azizulhasni Awang in cycling track. The former managed to win our nation’s first bronze medal while the latter bagged a silver.

With their contribution, Malaysia is ranked 66th out of 86 countries in the medal tally. This is a significant contribution and the athletes definitely deserve more appreciation and credit than what we gave them. To our athletes, thank you for your hard work and all that you have done to make our nation proud. Chins up, we are really proud of you! For those who fail, there is always the next Olympics. Cheers!