Hopes of gold fade in 39 minutes

IN 39 minutes it was all over. In such a short time, the long-awaited heroics of a Malaysian hero failed to materialise. In just a little over what it takes for plane to take off from Kuala Lumpur and land in Penang, Malaysia’s hopes of collecting its first Olympic Gold medal vapourised and disappeared in thin air. To the hundreds of Malaysians in Beijing and millions more glued to their TV sets, their vision of hearing the Negara-Ku being played as the Jalur Gemilang is raised in the hallowed halls of the Olympic Badminton Stadium in Beijing remained just that – an illusion. To those sympathetic to Lee Chong Wei and who had vested hopes on his boyish shoulders, saying that it was a massacre would be unacceptable, but the bitter truth was that China’s Lin Dan was far superior in all departments of the game.Top-seed Lin was in control from the outset and coasted to a 21-12, 21-8 win over the second-seeded Lee to give China its third gold medal in badminton. If Chong Wei’s fans had expected a fight-back, it was not forthcoming. The first three minutes of the match gave an indication that when the stakes are that high, there’s little but a Battle Royale. If it was any consolation, Chong Wei’s brief fight-back in the first set, when he reeled off five points in a row, gave a glimmer of hope. But having meekly surrendered the first, one would have thought that the Malaysia Boleh spirit would emerge in the second. Unfortunately, even this was lacking. If one had expected Lin Dan’s magic to suddenly disappear, it did not happen – nothing of that sort. Chong Wei was a non-starter. The seven-point lead in the first few minutes was evident that Lin Dan was in no mood for anything less than a quick kill. It came, courtesy of Chong Wei himself – a few unforced errors, some lapses in concentration and bad judgment calls along the lines. It all added up to defeat. There were no long rallies. Lin Dan did not want them. He was more interested in the mistakes that Chong Wei was making. Even the most hardcore of Malaysian fans would have hoped for a re-awakening or a second wind. Sadly, that never came. As it is said, at such levels when the standards between Number One and Number Two are immeasurable, it boils down to form of the day, match temperament and the atmosphere. Sorry to say, it was not Chong Wei’s day. It was a day he would want to put behind him. He will surely ask himself a thousand times: What went wrong? No one can answer these questions for him. He will have to look back, take stock and prepare for the next battle ahead. In defeat, no one should fault him. He tried and everyone loves a winner. But in defeat, it is time for all Malaysians to consider something – Chong Wei made sacrifices, trained and endured a lot of pain to make it to Beijing. These should override the gold medal factor. To the self-appointed critics and analysts, leave him alone. He never clamed his invincibility. He never was seeded number one – Lin Dan was the top seed. He never promised the gold. He gave his best and ended up with silver, not for want of trying. Simply put, it was not his day. in my opinion although chong wei didnt get the gold medal at least he managed to get the 1st medal for malaysia!.... CONGRATULATIONS Chong Wei u played well accept for those mistakes!... malaysia is finally on the list (10 frm the bottom)