Moment of the 26th SEA Games

As a Singaporean, I thought Joseph Schooling's jaw dropping record breaking 200m butterfly swim in Palembang was the moment of the 26th SEA Games. Today, a young lady with a badminton racket did one better.

At the Istora Senayan this afternoon, eight thousand patriotic Indonesians gathered to watch their country finish a sweep of all medals on the final day of the badminton competition. Make no mistake, badminton is larger than life in Indonesia, second only to soccer. Young and old, boys and girls play the sport across the archipelago and worship their badminton champions - many of whom have gone on to claim world titles. Indonesians expect to dominate this sport in South East Asia.

After two gold medals in the first two all Indonesian final fixtures, the crowd waited expectantly for the Women's Singles Final. In Indonesia, no one keeps silent during a badminton match. It is more like a boxing match, where the crowd cheers the favourite with each swish of the racket and boos the opponent when she does likewise. There are horns, whistles and clappers - the noise of which is exacerbated by the compact nature of the Istora arena. When Fu Ming Tian from Singapore walked in, the image I had was a gladiator entering a lion's den.

Ming Tian faced Adriyanti Firdasari, a taller and physically larger opponent from Indonesia. To the delight of the crowd, Firdasari dominated and claimed the first set easily at 14-21. Somehow, Ming Tian found strength to return the favour, dominate and win the second set 21-12.

The third set was pure drama. In an incredible and at times unbelievable sequence of play, both players exchanged blows with the point difference never more than two. They were 2-2, 7-7, 11-11, 15-15 and incredibly 19-19. Some of the rallies were breathtaking, involving more than 10 exchanges. When one made a mistake, the other would incredibly let the other back in with one of her own. Firdasari's name and cries of "In-do-ne-sia" rang around the stadium during rallies and between points, with the crowd trying to lift her to victory and to remind Ming Tian how alone she was. Ming Tian's response was to slow down the game. Between serves, she was slightly more deliberate in everything she did. And still she kept Firdasari close. When Firdasari moved to 20-19 and match point, the arena waited in expectation to cheer another Indonesian win. In disbelief, they saw this little girl bring the set back yet again to level at 20-20.

Shock was on the faces of all when Ming Tian brought the set to 21-20. In a series of net exchanges, Ming Tian's return bounced on the net cord awkwardly and tumbled on Firdasari's side. A stunned Firdasari looked at the umpire, hoping that such a shot surely would not count. Firdasari was saving match point for the first time. While Firdasari felt the weight of expectation on her shoulders, Ming Tian looked ever more determined, feeding on the hostility of the crowd. I looked at Firdasari and I knew the impossible was about to happen. The poor Indonesian cracked. Firdasari returned the shuttlecock to the net and fell to her knees. The few Singaporeans in the crowd jumped up, punching the air in unison to celebrate a most improbably win. In the stands, the head of the Indonesian badminton association graciously applauded and reached out to congratulate us. On the court, Ming Tian just stood there and beamed. She could not believe what she had done.

Fu Ming Tian, 21, became the first ever Singaporean to win a Woman's single SEA Games Gold medal in badminton ever - a sport Singapore has never excelled in. The last time Singapore celebrated a badminton champion was 27 years ago, when Wong Shoon Keat was in his prime, a time when Ming Tian was not even born. Ming Tian achieved this in an arena where almost all wanted her to lose. She had the mental strength to block the crowd out. In keeping toe to toe with her opponent, she demonstrated the strongest display of grit I have seen. And in winning the gold by the narrowest of margins she has delivered more than just glory to her country. She has written a story to inspire future generations of Singapore sportsmen and women for years to come.

The Best of Me

When I need a dose of small town America wrapped in a saccharine sweet love story, I look for Nicholas Sparks.

Like "A Walk to Remember" and "The Notebook", Sparks' latest offering, "The Best of Me" employs the time tested formula of two young people, falling in love in small town America, set in a conservative rural society that inevitably frowns on them as they are born on different sides of society. In this book, the two separate under painful circumstances and they walk very separate paths. But a chance meeting 25 years later resurrects their passion. Only this time, neither is without baggage, and there are no longer easy choices.

This is one of Sparks' better books. The two lead characters are well developed. But more importantly, the story allows the exploration of moral and life issues, choices, hope, second chances, forgiveness, responsibility and most of all, of dreams. For older readers, there is empathy for the two characters. All of us have made bad choices, and we are in the end the choices we make. Or are we? Do we get a second chance?

The writing may be a little less tight than I would have liked, and the plot too dramatic, but overall its definitely worth a read.

The 36th Marine Corps Marathon (MCM)

Years ago, after reading a full article about Oprah's running of the 1994 edition of this race, I decided that the Marine Corps Marathon was on my bucket list of things to do.

I admit it. Oprah is one of the reasons why I decided to take up running marathons in the first place. Oprah was not a story of an athlete pushing herself to a personal best, but a once seriously overweight middle-aged American woman deciding to have a life makeover. Oprah became us. If Oprah could get up from her couch, lose weight and transform herself - and run a marathon - anyone can! Oprah not only expanded the sport, she lowered the bar for excellence. For a generation of marathoners, the goal had been qualifying for Boston. Now, its just "doing an Oprah". Timing no longer matters. Its finishing the race. The marathon today is no longer a running race. It is a self-improvement exercise for thousands and thousands of people. [For you ultra competitive types, Oprah's time was a very credible 4:29:20 — known as the Oprah Line!]

This was my 11th marathon and the most special. It is the fifth largest in the United States and the ninth largest in the world with about 30000 runners, 21000 finishers. It has a generous cut off at one point only - the minimum required is to complete 20 miles in under 5 hours (or 32km), and a slow average time - ie run by many average people. A prize is given to the last finisher under 7 hours - a gesture to say that in the Marines no one gets left behind.

The Marines turns out thousands of it soldiers, all of them smartly dressed in their khaki fatigues. They spend the day interacting with members of the public - all polite, with smiles and with a unique sense of humour. They are all on their best behaviour. They hand out Gatorade, water, bananas, encourage people with their loudhailers, read out split times as you go by them, and at the finish line, hand out plastic blankets, medals [its a cool medal John!], refreshments, and food. They don't chat with each other but with the public, who today is their primary audience. It is a day when the Marine Corps shows its friendliest face. And because the race is immaculately organised to the finest detail, it works. The Marine Corps wins more friends through this race every year.

For me, the prelude for the race was an amazing race in itself. I landed in New York on Sat morning after 20 hours of travelling to find out that all flights had been cancelled due to the heaviest October snow storm in decades. Snowstorm? In Oct? I was prepared to run in 10 degree weather! A long wait with a chance encounter with a friend at American to get my luggage back, a bus and an Amtrak ride later, I got into DC late at night, just sufficient time to catch a few hours of sleep before turning up at the start point on Sunday morning without acclimatisation - 3 degrees!

But the race itself was beautiful. It had an amazing route, starting next to Arlington cemetary, running right around Washington DC including through Georgetown, past Watergate, the Potomac Park, up the Mall along the Smithsonian Museums, to Capitol Hill, and then back to Crystal City, before finishing off at the Iwo Jima Memorial. The crowd was fantastic. It was as if this was a massive seven hour celebratory parade. Hours after, you could spot the runners all around DC. All wearing the red T shirts handed out to participants. Even though my supporters were not physically present on race day, I know there were plenty in Indonesia. John told me to "pray for rain" and "not to think of water". [John needs to learn that Washington is cold.] Glenn told me to run with the Rocky song in my head. [A marching band actually played it when we reached the Smithsonian!. At the 23 mile I changed the song to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem. "Everyday I'm shuffling..."] Matthew and Felicia told me to rest well before the race and keep running. Grace, Winny, Erik, Rully, Lisa and Shirley sent me good luck messages just before. Everyone else thought I was a lunatic for flying half way around the world to do this and are waiting for me to bring gifts back. Thanks all!

I owe my participation and a check against my bucket list, to the best Navy Seal USN Captain I know, Alan Oshirak. He was in the Pentagon one day, met some Marine Corps friends, remembered me, asked for a ticket and gave it to me way back in April 11. I would never have been here otherwise. He has the loveliest wife in Kim, two wonderful kids (hi Alex and Kat!) and a wonderful home at the foot of the Shanandoah's. I also owe Jeffrey Lim a significant amount for supporting me on this run, in helping with the logistics weeks before, and especially picking me up at the finish line when I could hardly walk. And thanks Jon Retzlaff, for meeting me at dinner after all these years! Its always great to meet a fellow Sloanie. You raised it, so you have to organise the reunion!