Their performances, just as the men players from that era, reflected the character of a young Malaysia striving to find something common to share.

The growing popularity of badminton then inspired Malaysians to prove that success need not be determined by our background, but by our dedication to our craft and nation.

Sylvia and Rosalind say in tonight’s final episode of the television documentary, We Were Champions, that they had always tried to raise the bar when wearing a Malaysian shirt.

The documentary gives thanks to the selfless services of 12 athletes from six popular sports who have led the nation in one huge collective singing of Negaraku.

Rosalind once said: “When you hear the national anthem being played, especially in a foreign land, you feel all your hard work and sacrifices were well worth it.”

In We Were Champions, she says: “I didn’t look at the mountain. I went up to the top.”

Sylvia said she put the country’s interest first and it drove her to continue playing despite adversities.

These were players who had day jobs, had to take their own leave and use their own money when they were chosen to represent the country, and only trained for two or three weeks before a major tournament.

Sylvia and Rosalind are known for their exhausting stroke play and the ability to produce a certain magic in apparently desperate situations.

They dominated the courts both at home and abroad, winning the women’s singles, doubles, and even the mixed doubles with the likes of legends Teh Kew San, Tan Yee Khan and Ng Boon Bee.

A Rosalind-led Kedah women’s team ruled the prestigious inter-state Heah Joo Seang Cup competition for four years from 1964.

The Heah Joo Seang tournament and the Foong Seong Cup, for men, were then the symbol of inter-state badminton supremacy.

Rosalind’s mentor was Dr M Sundararajan, the then Kedah Badminton Association president, while Sylvia attributes her success to her father, Ng Ngoh Tee, and her brothers Billy, a former Thomas Cupper, and Roland, who played for Johor.

Sundararajan made Rosalind play against boys at the Sunroc badminton club hall in Alor Setar, while Roland would make his sister, the 10th in their family, do the same in their neighbourhood in Johor Bahru.

Much to their embarrassment, the boys would lose to them. The girls were set for the big time.

As kids, Rosalind and Sylvia swept the court and dried it to continue playing, as well as picking up unwanted and worn out shuttlecocks to play.

Under Sundararajan’s guidance, Rosalind and her doubles partner, Teoh Siew Yong, entered the 1965 Nehru Memorial Tournament in India as an independent team, their first international, and emerged runners-up.

In the same year at her first Seap (now Sea) Games, 24-year-old Rosalind won gold in the singles and silver in the doubles with Teoh.

It was a very credible achievement considering that she had taken up the game only at 17 on a sand patch behind her grandmother’s house in Penang.

Further, she faced strong opposition from other players such as Yap Hei Lin (Penang), Sylvia and Ong Ah Hong (Johor) and Katherine Teh (Selangor) to stay on top.

In the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, Rosalind and Teoh won the bronze in doubles, contributing to the five-medal haul by the Malaysian team.

In the same year, she won the mixed doubles gold medal with Kew San at the Asian Games in Bangkok where they beat Eddy Choong and Tan Gaik Bee.

At the 1967 Seap Games, while Rosalind took the silver in the singles and won the gold with Teoh in the doubles, it was a disastrous outing for 18-year-old Sylvia who fractured her foot in a warm-up session.

A distraught Sylvia feared it would be the end of her badminton career but she made a remarkable comeback at the 1969 Rangoon Seap Games, winning the gold in the singles.

In the doubles, she partnered Khaw Gaik Bee to take the silver, losing to Rosalind and Teoh.

Sylvia went on to win the bronze in the singles at the 1970 Asian Games and the gold in the mixed doubles with Boon Bee.

In the 1973 Sea Games, she captured the singles gold and became a formidable opponent to Rosalind in the women’s singles.

A year later, she formed a fearsome combination with Rosalind after Teoh retired, and their first victory together came at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games where they took bronze in the doubles.

But soon, the fate of Rosalind and Sylvia would take different routes.

By 1975, Rosalind was feeling uncomfortable being in the national team due to pressure put on her by a certain official of the Badminton Association of Malaysia to make way for younger players.

The pressure was piled on her despite her gold medals that year in the Seap Games doubles with Sylvia, in the mixed doubles with Dominic Soong and in the women’s team event.

By the time she retired in 1975, Rosalind had come a full circle – player, captain and coach of the Malaysian women’s team.

But for Sylvia, the best was yet to come.

Three years after winning two gold medals at the 1975 Sea Games in the singles and in the doubles with Rosalind, she was headed with confidence to the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

“When I walked into the stadium, I was very proud holding the Malaysian flag and leading the team. I told myself, I’ve to do something here,” said Sylvia, who was the flag bearer for the Malaysian contingent.

She did. Not only did she become the first Malaysian woman to win the singles at the Commonwealth Games, but she also helped the country win bronze in the mixed team event.

It was the culmination of years of hard training and determination for her. “I can’t express how happy I was and I cried as the national anthem was played.”

Sylvia retired after the Edmonton Games and was voted National Sportswoman in 1978, coming three years after she won the same award.

“I’m really proud of myself, and proud of what I’ve done for the country,” said Sylvia, who is still active in the sport in various ways.

Rosalind, who was conferred a datukship by the Kedah palace in 2013, is today a senior executive with a quarry works company.

Both the greats and their colleagues from their era can be considered fine examples of what a winning mindset can achieve.

The story of Sylvia Ng and Rosalind Singha Ang will be aired in the final episode of We Were Champions at 10.30 tonight over Sukan RTM Channel 111 Myfreeview.