Imagine standing on the highest Olympic podium, listening to your national anthem and watching your country's flag wave proudly. Who wouldn't want to experience such a proud moment? Among the athletes from South East Asia, who would be the first to make this dream come true?
An Olympic gold medal is the ultimate symbol of sporting achievement. For a country, especially in Southeast Asia, winning an Olympic gold medal is a historic moment that will be remembered forever.
This historic moment began with Susi Susanti, an Indonesian badminton player. She won the gold medal in the women's singles and stood on the highest podium at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Her victory served as an inspiration not only to Indonesian athletes, but to athletes from all over Southeast Asia.
In the following period, Thailand won its first gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Thai boxer Somluck Kamsing won the gold medal in the featherweight division.
However, from the 2000 Olympics to the 2012 Olympics, other Southeast Asian countries had yet to win their first gold medals. The 2016 Rio Olympics marked a significant change, with Singapore and Vietnam finally winning their first gold medals.
Joseph Schooling, a swimmer from Singapore, captured the world's attention by winning the 100m butterfly final at the 2016 Rio Olympics. His victory was all the more remarkable because he beat his idol, the legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps.
Meanwhile, Vietnam's long wait came to an end when Hoang Xuan Vinh triumphed in shooting. He won the 10m air pistol gold medal on the opening day of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, becoming the oldest Southeast Asian gold medallist.
The Philippines finally won its first gold medal in weightlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Hidilyn Francisco Diaz made history by becoming the first Filipino athlete to win an Olympic gold medal since the country first competed in the Olympics in 1924. Diaz also set a new Olympic weightlifting record with a clean and jerk of 127kg and a total of 224kg.
Expectations are high for the Southeast Asian contingent at the Paris Olympics in 2024. But will history be made in Paris for Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries by winning Olympic gold medals? Let's watch and see.
