Nothing much is going well for the national bodybuilders.
Affected by gym closures since last year due to Covid-19, even travelling to Uzbekistan for the World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships, which started yesterday, is a test of their patience.
Six national bodybuilders were stuck for 17 hours at an airport in Dubai during transit.
They were defending world champion Syarul Azman Mahen Abdullah, Buda Anchah, Malvern Abdullah, Ahmad Faiz Ariffin, Zamarul Adam and Meilaura Dora, the only female bodybuilder in the team.
The six had left Kuala Lumpur for Dubai on Thursday before taking another flight to Tashkent.
Syarul said the long transit is something he has not experienced before, and this could affect the bodies of the bodybuilders.
"I have been to many places but this is the first time I experienced spending 17 hours in transit.
"It's not easy for us as we are bodybuilders and we are strictly on a special diet before a competition," said Syarul, who aims for a fifth straight world title in the Body Physique category.
"We took our own food with us and we found a food outlet (at the airport) that enabled us to reheat it.
"We cannot eat out because we are on a special diet, and we cannot go out of the airport as otherwise, we will need to go through a swab test again.
"It would have been easier during normal times as we can find a transit hotel to rest, but then this is not normal times... we do not want to expose ourselves to any risky situation."
Despite the setback, Syarul believes he has done whatever it takes to be in good physical condition to defend his world title.
"We will start training after two days' rest in Tashkent.
"The world championships are the only competition for me this year as the Asian championships were cancelled," said Syarul who won his first world title in 2016 and retained it in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
"There's not much competition this year and the Sea Games in Vietnam are postponed. So, I'm aiming to try to bring something back from Tashkent."