Successful athletes are, by definition, supremely fit individuals. The display of mental fortitude and athletic ability while battling for supremacy in the sporting arena means we tend to place them on a pedestal, believing they are mentally and physically superior to the rest of us mere mortals.
But while that image helps cultivate the revered star status, it clouds our expectations and conceals the stark reality that every athlete is also a human being with the same frailties and vulnerabilities as the rest of us.
Not only do athletes suffer more injuries than the average person as they continually test their physical capabilities, but when they can’t train or compete due to injury, their whole purpose and identity as an athlete is compromised, which is mentally extremely challenging.
A little over a year ago at the #WorldTourFinals, while Lee Zii Jia was playing some of his best #badminton, he suffered a debilitating ankle injury. Since then, he’s made 2 aborted attempts at return to competition, playing just 7 matches throughout the whole of 2025.
This week the #Olympic Bronze medallist returns to competition at the #MalaysiaOpen2026. And after so long out with injury, the return certainly won’t be easy, not least due to the mental torment every athlete endures while unable to compete.
I also know from bitter experience, after several surgeries following ruptured ACLs in both knees, the expectations from others to immediately perform as you did before the injury is both a heavy burden and totally unrealistic.
So, whilst I, like most badminton fans, eagerly anticipate Lee’s return, we should also be mindful that we need to help and encourage any athlete in their valiant return from injury, not chastise and criticise. We need to understand the universal struggles of every human being in overcoming adversity. Returning athletes deserve both compassion and admiration for the courage and perseverance to keep fighting while on the seemingly relentless road to rehabilitation.
And above all we need to understand and be sympathetic to the fact the mental pain endured during recovery is often greater than the physical pain of the injury itself.
📷 @badmintonphoto
Still can’t believe that we have 2x World Champions. 🌎 🥇 🇲🇾
Waited for 45 years for the first one (2022) and just over 3 years for the next one (2025).
Hujung2 tahun ni nak tunjuk rasa penghargaan untuk atlet2 kita.
#BadmintonMalaysia
The long matches since SEA Games maybe finally took a toll on them 😢 Couldn't finish high in #Hangzhou2025 but what a season they had.
Congrats for finally breaking WTF jinx and thank you for a wonderful season @PearlyTannn@Thinaah98, chin up and we go again in 2026 💪🏻🔥
The Sepak Takraw win is sweet. It’s truly Malaysian sport, and deservedly we win it again. Maybe football should take a leaf out of this playbook. Keep the politicians out of FAM, and stay humble.
Tak payah lah, Mat Salleh celup. Takraw Team Ori.
🔥🚨BREAKING: Malaysia ended a 34-year wait for a sepak takraw gold medal in the team regu event by defeating arch-rivals Thailand 2-1.
The last time Malaysia won gold in this event was at the 1991 edition in Manila, Philippines.
JUARA #KumamotoMasters2025!
🇲🇾 Pearly Tan / Thinaah Muralitharan [1] mengalahkan wakil tuan rumah 🇯🇵 Rin Iwanaga / Kie Nakanishi [4]
22-20
21-19
Tahniah @PearlyTannn and @Thinaah98 !
3rd title this year!
🥇 🇯🇵 Kumamoto Masters 2025
🥇 🇫🇮 Arctic Open 2025
🥇 🇹🇭 Thailand Masters 2025
#BadmintonMalaysia
Happy retirement 🇨🇳Chen Qing Chen! What an incredible WD career she’s had with Jia Yi Fan:
🏆44 titles, 55 finals, 71 semi-finals.
✨412W-90L 81.91%, 3rd most matches & wins in WD history.
👑 Holding 133 WD records.
2014–2025, thank you, FanChen! Legends never fade.❤️