The Ma-"King" of a Champion

Ranked 149th (July 2021) in the world, Lim Chong King shared his experience as a full-time national badminton player. His immense interest in playing badminton sparked as early as the age of six when he followed his elder brother to school practices. His talent was unearthed by the coach when he found the young boy playing badminton by himself beside the court.

Receiving full support from his father, he started training at the age of 7. As a budding professional badminton player, he championed many MSSM tournaments at the national level. His efforts blossomed when he was chosen as the state player to represent his hometown, Kuala Lumpur. Afterwards, he was recruited by Bukit Jalil Sports School where he embarked on his journey to become a rising national star.

Inspired by amazing badminton players like Datuk Lee Chong Wei, the 20-year-old was determined to become the next World No.1. Besides, his parents played a significant role as his pillar of support in the uphill battle of becoming a national badminton player.

“Without my parents’ support, my motivation will be halved. No one can replace the support they gave me,” he said with gratitude.

One of the greatest challenges he encountered was the psychological hurdle that he had to overcome. There was a point in life when he felt that all his perseverance, diligence and hard work

to reach higher grounds were worthless efforts. Lost and depressed, he doubted his ability. Eventually, he realised that it was his fear of losing that held his potential back, as he feared to risk being eliminated from the national team. To conquer his fear, he strived to improve himself by seeking guidance from his coach consistently.

“I think that the indispensable quality that a badminton player should possess is a good mindset. If I was stressed about losing, it’s hard to maximise my potential during competitions,” said the top 11th badminton player in Malaysia.

“I gradually changed my perspective about competitions. I would tell myself: if I was stressed and afraid, I would lose; if I was not, the probability of losing was still there, but I would be braver, more confident and open-hearted to play,” he shared.

By being more open-hearted, he managed to reduce his mistakes. He built his confidence by defeating the nervousness that would bury his potential deep under the covers.

After completing his SPM, he felt relieved from the pressure of balancing his time between studies and training. He was glad to focus on realizing his dream of becoming the top Men’s Singles in the world.

Besides being trained by past national players, he was honoured to be trained by our national hero, Datuk Lee Chong Wei for a few months before he retired. He felt lucky to have the golden opportunity to have several matches with the former World No.1 our nation looked up to.

The young Malaysian had traveled around the globe for various tournaments. Fuelled with enthusiasm, he joined competitions in countries from East Asia and Europe. His journey was rewarding as he won the 1st runner-up in the Sydney International Tournament 2019.

“The most memorable experience throughout my journey of representing Malaysia would be the moment when I championed the Hellas Open in Greece last year,” he said.

The tournament challenged the Malaysian team’s stamina, endurance, and perseverance. For instance, him alone had to deal with a total of 8 matches in 4 continuous days. Nevertheless, his indomitable spirit was the corner stone towards his success.

“We were so exhausted that we didn’t even have the appetite for dinner, the schedule was so packed and intense. It was the most tiresome competition I had ever experienced,” he said.

“The moment I won, those days of self-doubt were gone. All my efforts were worth, I didn’t waste my time and energy for training, I didn’t let my family down,”

Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, his training had unfortunately been halted for 3 months. Hence, his target is to rebuild his strength and stamina in preparation for every upcoming competition, including the Thomas Cup commencing next year. By gaining marks and moving up the world ranking, more doors will open for him to join higher level competitions, including the Olympic Games.

“The fundamental qualities a badminton player must have is perseverance, and diligence. If these don’t get you to higher grounds, it’s crucial to learn how to play smart and find solutions to curb problems,” Lim Chong King advised to those who aspire to become national badminton players.

“Learning how to play smart is actually learning how to do strategy planning. You don’t have to be faster or stronger than your opponent, you must be smarter instead. Be spontaneous, observe what your opponent is good at, and use those to your advantage,” he continued.

Standing on the international platform, Lim Chong King was humbled by many professional players in the world. Although he was honoured to represent Malaysia, he was aware that many strong opponents await. Therefore, he is determined to make every step count towards transforming his vision into a reality.

**This Interview was carried out on 4/7/2020. The edited version of this blog post was published on The Star's Newspaper BRATs Column on 7/10/2020.