My Own Memorable Event (Gee...I
know I sound stupid)
2002
The only thing which I can really consider as one of my memorable events was on 28 and 29 June. Those were the days when I met with many great badminton players during the Malaysia Open. The four-star tournament was held at the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA).
On the night of 27 June, my friend called me and told me that her uncle, Mr Tan had agreed to bring us there, the place where only players, coaches and officials were allowed (the court area). She told me where and when to meet and so on. Being too excited, I could not sleep that night.
The next day was a Friday so I had to go to school. It was the additional sports then. I ran 100 metres, did my long jump and shot put. I managed to collect a point for the 100 metres and my long jump each for my house, Lily but failed to do so for my shot put because I did not even have the strength to hold the ball. Anyway, when I got back from school, I tried to take my afternoon nap, which I usually did. However, I only got barely an hour rest. When it was time, I got ready and waited for my father’s friend, Mr Goh to fetch us there. Before that, I had already prepared my camera to snap photos on my idols and also pens and marker pens to get their autographs. My younger brother and sister together with my dad accompanied me to witness the Malaysia Open. Mr Goh is a busy man, so we had to wait patiently for him to get home from work, eat and bathe before he could bring us there. When I was in the car, I was really very, very eager to get there as soon as possible. We were stuck at the traffic jam but luckily it was not that bad.
When I reached the arena, my friend was already waiting for me but Mr Tan was not there yet. After a few minutes, Mr Tan came and brought us to the office first which was located somewhere near the basement. There, each of us was given the limited edition of the Malaysia Open Booklet. I did not know what was going on at that time because Mr Tan was not in the office for quite some time. When I realized that Camilla Martin's (a Danish player) match had started, I felt even more impatient, but obviously I could not do anything.
Finally, when Mr Tan was back, he instructed us to follow him. As he opened the door, I realized that I was actually there!! I mean that place…the badminton court area! It was like a dream came true. I did not even bother to look at who was competing at that time because all I realized was some European players. We took our sit and our eyes were aiming at the entrance door. I was actually looking for Chan Chong Ming and other Malaysian players whom I have longed to meet since a few years ago. Not long after, I saw Bao Chunlai (China) running up and down at our left side. Being too excited, I told my friend, “Look, Bao Chunlai,” with my fingers pointing at him. Bao Chunlai realized our presence and tried to avoid us. We were trying to get to him by sort of chasing him but in the end, we managed to get his autograph and his photograph with his face looking down. With this kinda action, I suspect that he was a shy guy.
Next was Ong Ewe Hock (Malaysia) who was busy doing his warm-up exercises. As usual we went to him and wished him luck because his next opponent was Bao Chunlai who was a tough opponent. Besides, Ewe Hock was playing at his home ground, Penang where he was brought up here. Not much things happened in the next fifteen minutes while we were back sitting at our places. Again, I saw a European guy warming up. He was gorgeous. At that time I did not know who he was. I assumed that he must be a lousy player because Europeans are not strong in this sport, except for Danish. After the Commonwealth Games, I found out that he was Nathan Robertson, England’s men’s and mixed doubles player. Partnering Gail Emms in the mixed doubles, the duo are the 2004 Olympic Silver medallists.
Ok, back to the Malaysia Open. Camilla was playing and she was so scarrryyyy. I felt this way maybe because I had not seen her playing life before, just a few metres away from me. My goodness…she was always scolding and shouting whenever her shots went wrong. The umpire, who got fed up, gave her a warning which resulted in the more “peaceful” Camilla after that. We did not know when Choong Tan Fook arrived because when again we looked at the entrance area, he was sitting there alone. Without wasting much time, we walked towards him. He smiled. The same process again took place – photos and autograph. Forcing myself to be brave, I asked him how was Lee Wan Wah’s injury (Tan Fook’s partner) and he said that he was fine and he was coming soon. I asked another question, “When is Chong Ming coming?” And again, he answered, “Coming soon.”
We went back to our sit and out of nowhere, an announcement was made. The men’s singles match was going to start. Lee Tsuen Seng vs Xia Xuanze (this match is what Linny was looking for…er..actually she was looking for those players) and the other one was Wong Choong Hann vs James Chua. The match ended with victory to Tsuen Seng and James Chua. Immediately when those four players finished playing, we hurried towards them. Choong Hann was exhausted and was topless, so he asked us to wait for a while. So, we went to see Tsuen Seng. At that time, there were a few reporters waiting to interview him due to his victory over the world number one at that time, Xia Xuanze. However, he asked them to wait while he signed on our booklets. His left wrist was shaking terribly maybe because he had used his full force while smashing. After that, we went back to Choong Hann and he had to wear his shirt in order to take photographs with us. He was a friendly guy during that time.
Finally, someone
walked in the door. He was Chew Choon Eng (Chong Ming’s doubles partner)
. Right
at that moment, I felt very excited. I went to ask him when Chong Ming was
coming. He said Chong Ming had already arrived and he pointed to the other side
of the court which we were not allowed to cross over. So, I told him to ask Chong Ming to come over here but he just smiled. Hhmm…anyway just before I
realized, Chong Ming suddenly stood in front of me. I got a shock. I went
straight to him and asked for his autograph. I was very nervous and that made me
speechless, so I wasted my opportunity to speak to him.
When everything was done, we went back to our sits. I was not paying attention at all who were playing at the court because I was very obsessed with the players. Later, after Xia Xuanze got changed, we went to him. We had a hard time speaking Mandarin to him but I could tell that he was a friendly and a talkative man [quite flirtatious somehow :) ].
Then, Mr Goh’s daughter felt tired and wanted to go home. So, I had to go home and missed the men’s doubles matches. I thought that Chong Ming and Choon Eng could win their match but they failed to do so.
**********
Ok…the next day went perfectly well. It was my mum’s turn to fetch me there.
I arrived at the stadium around 2.00pm. The atmosphere was quiet and calm. Camilla was doing her warming up and refused to take photograph until after her game. So I obeyed her. She was scheduled to play against Xie Xingfang from China. Their match ended up with three sets, victory to Camilla. During her game, the other China players were cheering for Xie Xingfang and laughed whenever Camilla made mistakes. This was to tease Camilla. Anyone could have told that Camilla was really burning up to 100 degrees Celsius.
When she had finished playing, I felt reluctant to see her because I was afraid of getting scolded by her. However, my view on her changed when I saw her treating her other fans kindly. She recognized me at once when I walked to her and she brought me out of the court to snap pictures with her. She told me that she was busy to update her website. Actually, I have been Camilla’s fan since 1999 so I really longed to meet her since then.
Besides, I also went to see Xie Xingfang but we did not speak to each other due to my lousy Mandarin.
When it the men’s singles started, we concentrated on Tsuen Seng vs James Chua’s match. Linny was very much into Tsuen Seng, so I accompanied her to support Tsuen Seng but Tsuen Seng ended up losing to James. Most of the time, Tsuen Seng's smashes were out. That was the main factor he lost. Seeing him unhappy, we went out of the arena to talk. We discussed on his daily trainings and some strict rules which he had to obey. Not long after, I spotted two people walking from far. The nearer they came and I realized that they were Chong Ming and Choon Eng, I quickly told Tsuen Seng to ask Chong Ming to come over so that I could snap a photo. However, again I failed to open my mouth. Arrgghh…!!
In conclusion, I felt contented with my luck to meet them face to face. I even dreamed about me, in the national team…although I know that this is totally impossible!!
Pictures for sight-seeing!! (without my face..hehe) - In sequence:
28 June, nervous and fear of his fans (like me) but somehow, he was shy! He was warming up at that time b4 his QF match!
28 JuneQF, Ewe Hock was doing his warming up at that time.He was going 2 play against Bao Chunlai
28 June, Choong Tan Fook, who partnered Chang Kim Wai, then, the earliest to reach the arena. Lee Wan Wah was injured.
28 June, after his defeat to James Chua in the QF
28 June, notice his sweat. He had just defeated the world number one at that time, Xia Xuanze in the Quarterfinal round
28 June, before his quarter finals match which he eventually lost to a Chinese pair.
28 June, drug addict? [lol] Poor thing, he had just lost to Tsuen Seng in the QF *NOTE: He is NOT photogenic at all. He looks real good in real person*
29 June, in a good mood. She just overcame a Chinese oponent, Xie Xingfang in the Semi
29 June, Tsuen Seng was outside the arena and was disappointed over his lost to James Chua in the SF
29 June, I spotted him walking from far, thus asked Tsuen Seng to call him so that I could take his pic. Outside PISA
29 June, he was hanging out in the arena, so I got hold of him to take another picture! This picture makes him looks kinda blur though =) *NOTE: He is NOT photogenic at all. He looks real good in real person*
29 June, after her match in the Semi finals, losing to Camilla Martin
29 June, Lin Dan (left) and Chen Yu
And lastly....this is the booklet I got and it has all my favourite players signatures on it!
