RIO DE JANEIRO: What an Olympic it has been for Tan Wee Kiong-Goh V Shem.
Nobody gave them a ghost of a chance to win a medal, let alone fight for the gold.
Yet there they were, on Friday, slugging it out point for point before losing 21-16, 11-21, 21-23 to world No. 4 Fu Haifeng-Zhang Nan at the Riocentro Pavilion 4.
But it could all have been so different as they came so close to springing the biggest upset in the Olympic badminton competition when they held two match points – at 20-19 and 21-20.
Unfortunately, the Malaysians cracked under pressure as Haifeng-Zhang Nan levelled the scores on both occasions before capitalising on the Malaysians’ two unforced errors to clinch China’s first badminton gold in Rio.
“We are disappointed, but at the same time we are grateful for the silver. Hopefully, we can keep up after this in other competitions. I think we did a great job here, beating a number of seeds (in our run to the final),” said V Shem.
V Shem admitted it was disheartening to lose the last few points through errors.
“We were very focused but, at the crucial moments, we could not make it. That was really, really disappointing.”
Wee Kiong said: “Anybody who plays in a final would be nervous and tense. We just didn’t manage the situation well enough.”
Looking back, there had been signs of something special brewing starting from the group stages itself.
V Shem-Wee Kiong topped Group B in style – including triumphing 16-21, 21-15, 21-18 over Haifeng-Zhang Nan – to stroll into the quarter-finals
In the last eight, V Shem-Wee Kiong produced an even bigger shock – stunning world No. 1 Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea 17-21, 21-18, 21-19.
In the last four, the world No. 12 Malaysians upped the ante to upstage world No. 5 Chai Biao-Hong Wei of China 21-18, 12-21, 21-17.
Having seen off some of the world’s best, it would have been the perfect ending to their fairytale run.
Alas, it wasn’t to be.
So, what’s next for V Shem-Wee Kiong?
Wee Kiong said they would take a rest first before deciding on their plans for the rest of the year.
“All we need now is to calm down and relax. After a rest, we will discuss with our coaches what to do next,” he added.
He said he would not forget the experience of playing in the world’s biggest Games.
“This is my first Olympics and I won a silver. It’s like a dream,” said Wee Kiong.
“I would like to thank my friends, family, coaches and all the Malaysian supporters. We did all we could. It’s not a medal for us, it’s for all of Malaysia.”
V Shem-Wee Kiong can indeed walk with their heads held high all Malaysians are proud of what they have done. This is one silver that is as precious as gold.
http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/bad...ble-olympics-experience-for-wee-kiong-v-shem/