AUGUST 7 — It was hard watching Lee Zii Jia cry on TV.

It was also hard hearing him talk about Malaysian media savaging him and though I knew he didn’t mean all media practitioners, it still stung.

Truthfully I have noticed how one-sided the coverage of Lee was and the narrative around him never being neutral, painting his choices as proof of him being “ungrateful” or “disloyal”.

Many Malaysians are angry hearing that he had to foot the bill for his support team to the Olympics, including his physiotherapist and coach, as well as him having to find a new coach on his own despite being promised help from some quarters.

Many are also angry about another badminton player being unable to bring her coach along due to there not being enough passes.

Questions were also raised as to why the officials and their entourage going to the Olympics outnumbered the actual athletes in the contingent.

It is nice to see Malaysians sticking up for our athletes but at the same time you wish they would do it ALL the time.

How sad and funny is it that the one time we are guaranteed not to pick fights with each other over race or faith is when we are cheering our side in badminton matches?

Truly, sports does more to make Malaysians get along than the Unity Ministry, which is a whole other story altogether.

At the same time, we are also hard on our athletes. Or, at least that’s what I gather seeing how they apologise so effusively for not winning or not winning gold.

One person on Twitter callously said it seemed silly for Malaysians to celebrate them losing and asked when we were going to stop.

That person has obviously never competed in the highest level of sports — just getting into the Olympics is a process that is years in the making and is a competition of its own.

Sometimes you might get a bye through sheer luck but you do not automatically get a berth in the competition solely by being a Malaysian citizen.

Malaysians are justified in being proud of our badminton players because they win regional competitions on a frequent basis.

Consistently making it to nearly every Olympic badminton semi-final or final is still an achievement — it’s just figuring out how to be the best instead of just “among the best”.

Our South-east Asian neighbours cheer us on just as fervently in the Olympics, especially when their own countrymen are unable to advance.

South-east Asians celebrated the Philippines winning gold in gymnastics because it is a big deal, as it is challenging the likes of the US, whose university sports system is a well-oiled elite athlete-producing machine.

Meanwhile, the first-ever Philippines gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz started out just lifting pipes as training.

Though it begs the question: the Philippines is far from a rich country and sports funding is poured into basketball over other sports, the latter having to go out of pocket or find their own funding.

Yet against all odds, they’ve done what Malaysia has struggled to do — win a single Olympic gold medal. Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and even Singapore have all done it so why haven’t we?

In my own opinion I think it boils down to our not being much of a sporting nation in the first place. I hate how every now and again some article shames us for being fat and sedentary when in Malaysia how can you not be?

Sports training is expensive as are sports activities in general. We build malls everywhere but free or cheap places to partake in sports are far and few.

The Ampang Park skate park? It’s got a great location and free entry but there is little to no shade or shelter and with the current high temperatures, you risk heat stroke.

Skateboarding itself is not a cheap activity as boards go for a few hundred ringgit as does safety gear.

The elephant in the room is also how much we spend on football when, let’s face it: Malaysian football has not reached the kind of calibre that justifies the investment put into it.

Our local football scene is also unsustainable with most teams struggling to sell tickets or even pay their players.

Make sports accessible. Give athletes a secure pathway for retirement by either helping them get jobs or education because the problem with being in sports is the wear and tear on your body means your career will not be a long one.

The incentives shouldn’t stop once they stop competing.

Make being an athlete a secure profession with either job security or grants post-retirement — that will make Asian parents less reluctant about their kids being athletes instead of doctors.

The sports world isn’t even just about the Olympics — all year round there are various competitions and opportunities for those with enough skill to make a living.

Perhaps too, Malaysian media should set an example for our countrymen by reporting on sports the way they should — with integrity and when it is needed, kindness.

Sending our athletes to big competitions is like fighting a war (but with no bloodshed). Let us celebrate them for carrying the biggest burden of all: our collective hopes and dreams.

Send them off with hope, and receive them with gratitude and warmth because that is the least our athletes deserve.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/opinion/2024/08/07/we-need-to-celebrate-our-athletes-more-not-less/146225