There was nothing at this stage of her career to suggest it was time to call it quits. In fact, she had been racking up gold and silver medals with her mixed-doubles partner, Chan Peng Soon, for the past five years.
But her body was struggling to cope, and she was forced to undergo surgery on both her knees in 2014.
“I lost everything. Due to the fact that I had to go for surgery, my world ranking dropped to 200,” she told FMT in an interview.
Prior to the procedure, Goh and Chan were among the top 10 mix-doubles players in the world.
The surgery ruled her out of action for 11 months and also affected her salary, as players’ earnings are dependent on their world rankings.
“I asked myself, who am I when I’m not on the court? And I could not find an answer,” she said.
Upon further reflection, Goh was reminded of her love for the sport, which would lead her to toil for years to become a professional player. As a young girl, she would follow her father to the court.
“I was quite an active child, so he started to play badminton with me and told me he hoped one day I would become a national player,” she recalled. Talk about reaching your aspirations!
“Badminton is my true love,” said the now 33-year-old. “[After my surgery], I told myself if I could come back, I would cherish every match.”
True to her word, Goh made a triumphant return in 2015, racking up gold and silver medals with Chan in the run-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
It was then that she reached the pinnacle of her career, winning silver in the mixed-doubles event. It was a historic moment for Malaysia, as millions at home hailed their newest badminton queen, the first female shuttler to win an Olympic medal.
For this girl from Alor Gajah, Melaka, it was a dream come true. “Standing on the podium at the Olympics… it’s every athlete’s dream. This is what we are aiming for.
“I couldn’t imagine that one day I’d be standing there. I made it. Even now I feel like I’m still dreaming.”
Today, her prized Olympic medal hangs alongside an Asian Championship gold, Commonwealth Games bronze, All-England silver, and a host of SEA Games medals.
Three years on from Rio, Goh parted ways with Chan, her partner of 13 years, and went on to team up with Ong Yew Sin and subsequently with Low Juan Shen.
And last November, Goh announced she would retire after the Malaysia Open that saw her reunite with Chan. Sadly, that dream swansong ended quickly as the pair crashed out in the first round.
‘No shortcut’
Looking back on her career, Goh is proud to have played a part in boosting the presence of female mixed-doubles players and proving that women athletes can be just as strong and successful as their male counterparts.
That said, she admitted that her biggest regret was in being too aggressive, which led to her suffering injuries at an early age.
As a role model to aspiring female sportspersons, she advised: “There’s no shortcut to becoming a professional athlete. You have to be really determined and self-disciplined, and really take care of yourself.
“Don’t get injured easily.”
And now that she has retired, Goh is looking forward to having more freedom. “With badminton we travelled all the time, so we didn’t have time to even celebrate Chinese New Year.”
So, what is she setting her sights on? Something “adventurous”, she said, like hiking or diving. On the flipside, a quieter sport such as golf.
Then there’s her long-held “secret” dream – of acting. Smiling, Goh told FMT she would love to play “a strong character”.
It’s not a far cry from the person she already is.