Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2021: While Tokyo 2020 is full of success stories and heroic deeds, many more athletes will return home disappointed and with nothing to show for their years of dedication in terms of medals.
Take the case of Malaysian diver Wendy Ng Yan Yee, who was ranked 20th of 27 entries in the preliminary round of the women’s 3m springboard competition and failed to progress.
In her third Olympics, the 28-year-old Olympic Scholarship athlete was hoping for much more – and took to Facebook to tell her own emotional story of disappointment.
“I spent the past 5 years training for the Tokyo Olympics,” she said. “I have continued working hard as a national diver for the past 15 years. It felt as though all the hard work, injuries, pain, sweat and tears was for nothing.
“This result is not what I set for myself and I feel I have to apologise to all Malaysians rooting for me.
“I trained so hard in part to bring pride to Malaysia. Unfortunately, I injured my shoulder during one training session just days before my competition. I tried to work through the pain and perform the dives as how I trained. However, my body just does not respond to my mind.
“That’s the reality of being an athlete which can be a bitter pill to swallow! It was one of those days where everything is not right, I have to suck it up and get over this.”
Ng added that there were only very limited places in the competition and asked: “Which athlete doesn’t dream to stand on the podium? Which athlete doesn’t want her hard work to be recognised? No one understands the hardship we put ourselves through all these years. The hard work we put in, the failures we have to overcome, the sacrifices we have to endure, just to put our foot in the Olympics. This is the life of an athlete.”
She concluded by thanking her family and the sports authorities in Malaysia for supporting her and her fans and sponsors.
“As for Paris, we shall see what the next 3 years brings,” she added – and signed off “Favourite phrase for the past 15 years: Ng Yan Yee, representing MALAYSIA!”