Chong Wei, who is also Malaysia’s chef-de-mission (CDM) for the Tokyo Olympics Games, said with preparations for the “pandemic-torn” sports meet being very unusual, it might still turn out to be an opportunity for some athletes to beat the odds as darkhorses.

The 38-year-old noted that, in normal sports calendars, Olympics’ preparations take about two years through the qualifiers and programmes organised by the National Sports Council and sports associations.

But with the unrelenting Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the Tokyo Games to be postponed for a year, the preparations were not like before, as athletes trained in safety bubbles under strict quarantine, and many tournaments and training schedules were halted.

The three-time Olympic silver medallist, the country’s most successful athlete, also recalled his last victory on the Olympics stage, beating former champion and nemesis Lin Dan of China in the 2016 Rio Games semifinals.

“When I beat Lin Dan, nothing could beat the pride and honour (I felt). I was dead tired at that time in the semis. I thought I would lose to Lin Dan again. But I told myself not to let down the prayers of 32 million people back home.

“It gave me the extra push to clinch the winning point. How the country celebrated is still fresh in my mind. Imagine the national eruption if my tired body hadn’t given way and I had beaten Chen Long the day after?

“I missed my chance. It’s your turn now, comrades. It’s the time for the tough to get going,” Chong Wei wrote in his Facebook page.

After losing the chance to deliver the country’s most awaited gold medal twice, at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games, both after defeats to Lin Dan, Chong Wei was on the verge of winning at the Rio Games, but was denied by another Chinese player, Chen Long, in the final.

Chong Wei also reminded the athletes that every time they don the national crest and enter the competition arena, 32 million Malaysians will be cheering and praying for their success.

“Be a Malaysian… (a) hero,” he added.