LIFE has certainly changed for Guatemalan shuttler Kevin Cordon since his unexpected fourth-placing at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
No, the 35-year-old didn't become rich as the Guatemalan government does not offer the kind of cash rewards that Malaysian athletes are getting.
But things are certainly looking up for Cordon as far as his career is concerned.
The World No 36 revealed that he has been enjoying better financial support from his government as it allows him to travel extensively for training and tournaments, including his first-ever visit to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysia Open this week. However, he failed to make a memorable debut after losing 21-17, 21-7 to world No 16 Wang Tzu Wei of Taiwan.
"The last time I played in this part of the world was 10 years ago. Back then, I was playing in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore Opens in succession just before the London Olympics," he said.
"This is my first time at the Malaysia Open. It took me two days to get here... it's a pity that I lost, but there's still next week (Malaysia Masters) and Singapore Open.
"It's great to be back in this region, I love the atmosphere here and to play against the best players in the world, it's simply amazing.
"I appreciate the opportunity to compete here. I always wanted to play in this kind of tournaments, but it's just too expensive," he said.
Last year, Cordon pulled off one of the greatest feats in Olympic badminton history with his sensational run to the semi-finals, before losing to eventual champion Viktor Axelsen. In the bronze playoff, he went down to Indonesia's Anthony Ginting.
"It (reaching Olympis semi-finals) changed my life a lot, of course. In my country and South America as a whole, badminton isn't popular there," he said.
"It's difficult to have good training, let alone going out for tournaments. But thanks to my Olympics result, more funding is coming in from both my government and sponsors. I can now look forward to training abroad and playing in more World Tour events."
Cordon, who beat Canadian Brian Yang in the Pan-American final in April, is also looking forward to playing in his sixth World Championships, in Tokyo from August 22-28.
It was at the world meet that Cordon rose to prominence. In 2011 in London, he stunned China's Chen Long in the first round before Lee Chong Wei ended his great run in the quarter-finals.