The long awaited Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is here after a year of it being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even when held during such challenging times, it has not dampened the spirit of sportsmanship of athletes from around the world. Not even our very own Malaysian athletes.
Becoming an Olympian is every athlete’s dream. Being one means one is one of the best and winning one’s country a medal proves one is world recognised. Thirty Malaysian athletes are qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympic and half of them are debuting as Olympian.
Joining the Malaysian Olympic team for Tokyo 2020 are 13 new young athletes who earned a spot to make their dreams come true.
- Farah Ann Abdul Hadi
Our very own National Gymnastic Princess is no stranger to us Malaysian. The 27-year-old gymnast has proven her talent to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Farah Ann’s debut made her the third gymnast from Malaysia to ever qualify for the Olympics after Au Li Yen in Sydney 2000 and Ng Shu Wai in Athens 2004. Although her journey quickly came to an end on July 25th, Malaysia will always be proud of her.
- Jeremiah Loo Phay Xing
Another gymnast from Malaysia, Jeremiah Loo Phay Xing debuted as an Olympian after ranking 62nd out of 66 participants at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic. Not overly bothered by the result, Jeremiah quickly recovered and set his target for Paris 2024 instead. The Penangite even described his world stage experience as “awesome”. We hope to see him more on the bars for the next Olympics.
- Lee Zii Jia
Predecessor of the badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Lee Zii Jia debuted as an Olympian as he qualified into the team after winning gold for the All England Open Badminton, stealing the attention of Badminton fans from around the world. He even won against Artem Pochtarov from Ukraine for Men’s Singles in his first Olympic game on July 25th. His skills and power are undeniably strong, however due to lacking in experience, the 23 years old loses against Chen Long, the 2016 Olympic Champion. This does not stop Lee Zii Jia to continue striving in Badminton as he said, “Without pressure, I would not become someone who is more mature.”
- Soniia Cheah Su Ya
The 28-year-old representative for Women’s Single in badminton has earned her spot in the Malaysia team and debuted as an Olympian for Tokyo 2020. Though she lost against Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the first game on 29th of July, Soniia did not give up in Badminton despite having undergone surgery four times to treat her Achilles tendon injury. Malaysian would always cheer for Soniia in her future competitions and performances.
- Aaron Chia
Partnering up with Soh Wooi Yik, Aaron Chia has earned his spot for the Badminton Men’s Double category as finalist for the All England Open Badminton. They even won a gold medal for the Southeast Asian Games in 2019. Despite only debuting as an Olympian in Tokyo 2020, Aaron Chia proved his ultimate skills and teamwork with Soh Wooi Yik as they won a bronze medal, bringing Malaysia the first medal for Olympic Tokyo 2020. Congratulations!
- Soh Wooi Yik
The partner of Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik earned his spot for Men’s Double alongside Aaron Chia as finalist for the All England Open Badminton and a gold medalist for the Southeast Asian Games in 2019. They have been partnering since 2015 and reunited in 2017 as they qualified to the finals of India International Challenge. Winning against Mohamad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in a gruelling one hour game, they won the bronze medal.
- Lee Meng Yean
The Melaka-born, finally debuted as an Olympian in 2020 after debuting internationally in 2012. Partnering with Chow Mei Kuan, 26 years old, since 2011, they have won a single game against Lauren Smith and Chloe Birch of England and bowed out of the Olympics with dignity though defeated in their first two games against Indonesia and Japan.
- Chow Mei Kuan
Chow Mei Kuan too, finally debuted as an Olympian in 2020 after debuting internationally in 2012. In 2019, they won the bronze medal for the Southeast Asian Games 2019 in the Philippines.
- Shah Firdaus Sahrom
This Johor-born cyclist have proven his ultimate talent as he defeated the Olympic bronze medalist, Dato’ Muhammad Azizulhasni bin Awang, twice in 2021 Australian Track National Championship and also Victorian Keirin Championship in Australia. Finally debuted as an Olympian, Malaysian have high hopes for Shah Firdaus Sahrom for his game today.
- Nuraisyah Jamil
The almost Olympian Rio 2016 finally debuted as one for the Tokyo 2020 after losing the chance despite only having one point difference in the past. The 25 years old national sailing athletes have teamed up with Juni Karimah Noor Jamali for the Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470. They ended their Olympic journey in 19th place overall on 3rd of August.
- Juni Karimah Noor Jamali
The youngest debutant for Olympic 2020, Juni Karimah age 18, earned her spot in the Malaysia team at a young age after winning fifth place for 2019 Class Asian Championships in Shenzhen, China. Alongside Nuraisyah Jamil, a veteran in Sailing, they ended with 19th place.
- Syaqiera Masyayikh
The 20 years old archer debuted as an Olympian in Tokyo 2020 after qualifying herself with 619 points at the final Olympic qualifier. Despite not yet winning a single medal, Syaqiera proves herself to be Olympic-worthy as she beats her own best record with 630 points on the first day of the recurve archery event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- Azreen Nabila Alias
Azreen Nabila has only debuted internationally in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines and successfully debuted as an Olympian for Tokyo 2020. Despite the absence of her coach in Tokyo, the 21 years old sprinter has broken her own personal records with 11.77s for the 100m race and placed 2nd in the 2nd heat.
These are the 13 Olympic debutants for Olympics 2020 this year. These amazing new Olympians have done their best in their respective fields and have made us Malaysian prouds. Congratulations!
