I've always been a big fan of badminton, probably I was influenced by my daddy, who is a keen badminton player himself. I was preparing for my final examination when my mummy told me that daddy had two badminton match tickets. Wait, what? Two badminton tickets? Really? I was hesitated at first because that was the day I was going back home to Melaka to spend my last weekend before the final examination.
"It's up to you! Probably to see your idol- Lee Chong Wei for the first and probably the last," mummy said before walking off. Wow, a chance to see my idol- Lee Chong Wei at the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open playing live! Should I go? My heart is telling me that I should go to watch the match, it's a chance of a lifetime! It was not easy to get a premium ticket to watch the most anticipated badminton match in Malaysia. "Alright, I'll go!" I told mummy.
The next day which was the day of the match. My parents turned on the television to watch the live broadcast of the match. From the footage of the stadium, there wasn't enough space as everyone was seen arriving and probably trying to get a good seat to catch a glimpse of Chong Wei later on. My daddy and I left the house later while the television was still broadcasting the match of the men's doubles.
The Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open was held at the Axiata arena in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. The arena is famous for holding big concerts and badminton matches. America songstress, Taylor Swift, held her Red World Tour five years ago at the very same arena. We had a hard time to look for a parking place as the disabled parking was full. After we got our tickets checked in, we headed in to the stadium. Apparently the men's doubles was still going on. This is it! My very first live badminton match in 21 years of my life!
The Japanese pair in black jersey won the men's doubles. From afar, I saw Chong Wei's boys- Kingston and Terrance Lee entering the stadium to cheer their super daddy later on. Chong Wei playing against Japan's rising badminton star, Kento Momota. The announcer's voice boomed through the speakers to announce the men's singles players. "Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia!" the crowd roared as Chong Wei made his entrance to the court. The background music was Chaya Juara- the theme song from Chong Wei's biographic movie, Lee Chong Wei.
I waved the Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory) when Chong Wei entered. I've been a big fan of him since his debut at the Beijing Olympics 2008. Back in primary school Year 2, we learned our national athletes through the Bahasa Malaysia text book. Sometimes at the weekly assembly, the headmaster will mention Chong Wei in his speech so that we students would emulate him to become successful in the future.
Let's get back to the match, shall we? When a point was scored on Chong Wei's side, the crowd went completely wild. When he lost a point, I used the flag to cover my face and peaked through a little because we didn't know what would happen next. The first match ended with a score of 21-17. The second match was super intense as Momota was getting his way back up, but it didn't stop Chong Wei to back down as he had home advantage. It was a near match when the score reached 21-21. In badminton, 21 is the winning point. But if both players reached the 21st point, one of them must score another 2 extra points to beat their opponents.
The last point, Chong Wei challenged it because the shuttle hit out of the court. If the shuttle hit out, the winning point is Chong Wei's. Everyone was so intense when they viewed the official review from the screen. It showed the shuttle hit out of the court and Chong Wei won his 12th home title! Congratulations! You proved us once again that age is just a number. What a match!
My childhood dream is finally fulfilled. It's really different watching the match from home through the live broadcast to watching the match live in a stadium, where you can feel the atmosphere and energy! Speaking of battles, I have one coming up too! It's my final examination for Year 2 semester 1. If Chong Wei can do it, I can do it too! I'm looking forward to the next live badminton match at next year's Malaysia Open 2019. Who knows, I might have a closer encounter with Chong Wei next time?
