This morning, words of support for our national athletes who competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics are still flooding the news and social media. It’s Malaysia’s best Olympic year yet, having garnered four silver and one bronze medal. The Olympics this year arrived at a crucial time, especially when the country has come under intense international scrutiny: The Games demonstrated how all racial and ethnic particularity collapsed and merged into a greater national whole for a solitary purpose. Our national athletes did the very one thing everyone else has struggled to do: bring the nation together.
We didn’t win gold, but in the end, it isn’t about Malaysia having dominated and championed a single sport, it’s about us having fought our very best. The sportsmanship, or even the joy of pure competition, kindled anew the national spirit that was heard – loud and clear – from every mamak stall. It was this genuine, unyielding patriotism from our athletes that inspired us to also deliver our full measure of national devotion.
We may not consciously realise this, but every time we witness our athletes in action, we’re also witnessing their years of hardship, their burden of shouldering a massive national responsibility, their battle scars and injuries, their steadfastness in upholding the reputation that Malaysians do not quit, and their pain of being denied another chance at singing ‘Negaraku’ on the medal podium. Our athletes – reminding us that great stories come with even greater sacrifices – undoubtedly would have travelled home with their thoughts on the upcoming Games; trust them to return to the arena harder, better, faster and stronger.
