LETTERS: It was a heart-warming gesture by Malaysia's badminton coach Hendrawan to give away his shoes to Jamaican Samuel Ricketts, when his shoes got damaged while playing against Ng Tze Yong in a group match.
Riding on this feel-good factor, Malaysia took on India in the finals of the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
They overcame defending champions India 3-1. A victory to savour.
The doubles pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik were clinical in their win over the formidable Indian pair. It gave the other players a boost.
Goh Jin Wei, showing no fear when facing former world champion Pusarla V. Sindhu, played her heart out, so there was no shame in her defeat.
With the absence of Lee Zii Jia, the burden fell on Tze Yong to take the challenge to India.
He played the game of his life to overcome favourite K. Srikanth in a three-set thriller.
It was left to the women's pair of Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah to deliver the winning point for Malaysia.
Their class act gave the nation a 3-1 lead.
At the end of the day, team spirit and the never-say-die attitude of the Malaysian badminton players prevailed. The fans in the arena too played an important role.
Congratulations and well done.
THIAGARAJAN MATHIAPARANAM
Klang, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times