Home of the world champions

I’ve always liked that phrase the Penang State Sports Council uses: Home of the World Champions. It sounds a bit grand at first, maybe there is even a touch of marketing flourish, but when one thinks about it, there’s actually quite a lot of truth behind those words.

After all, this is the same Penang that produced names like Lee Chong Wei and Nicol Ann David. One carried the nation’s hopes in badminton for over a decade, the other dominated the squash world for 108 straight months as World Number One. That’s not just excellence. That’s sustained greatness.

And they weren’t alone. There were earlier badminton greats. Eddy Choong, Teh Kew San, Tan Aik Huang. Names that my generation still speak of with a certain pride. In snooker, players like Lim Kok Leong went on to win world amateur titles. Even in more recent years, Penang athletes popped up in different sports, from bowling to silambam, even chess. So yes, maybe that tagline isn’t so exaggerated after all.

But when we talk about champions, we tend to remember only the medals, the titles and the big moments. What we don’t see are the sacrifices and all the unseen struggles that come before that, such as the training, the injuries, the financial strain, the balancing act between sport and studies, and sometimes the simple question of whether they can afford to keep going. That part rarely makes the headlines.

I came across an invitation recently from the Penang State Sports Council for their inaugural gala dinner and art auction, to be held on 09 May 2026 at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.  It’s meant to be a fund-raising effort, but more than that, it is an attempt to address those less visible gaps I raised above.

Reading through it, I begin to realise that supporting athletes isn’t about only sending them to competitions. There are all sorts of needs. Education, for one. Not every athlete makes it big, and even for those who do, a sporting career doesn’t last forever. Then there are the medical issues of injuries and rehabilitation, and sometimes there are even life-changing setbacks. 

Beyond that, there are the ancillary things which are no longer optional in modern sport. Physiotherapy, sports psychology, proper nutrition and decent equipment are the things that separate those who merely participate from those who can actually compete at the highest level. It’s easy to assume all this is taken care of but in reality, it often isn’t.

What struck me as well is how the event is trying to bring different parts of the community together. Not just sports people, but also the arts crowd, corporate sponsors and ordinary supporters. There will be paintings for auction, some donated by artists, others from private collections. Even Nicol David has contributed a couple of signed pieces. And so, this gala dinner will be an interesting mix of sport and art under one roof.

Then there’s the more practical side of the dinner. The tables don’t come cheap and are priced at RM10,000, RM30,000 and RM50,000 depending on how deep the pockets are. But that’s the reality of fund-raising at this level. To be fair, contributions are tax-exempt, and the funds are meant to go directly into supporting athletes. 

Still, not everyone can buy a table or bid for a painting. But I'm certain that this will be fine with the organisers. At the very least, an awareness is created. Because if we really believe in this idea of Penang as a “home of champions,” then it can’t just be about celebrating success after it happens. It has to include some willingness to support the journey before that success arrives. And even many journeys don’t quite end in glory.

I think back to the last Sukma Games. Penang did reasonably well by achieving fourth place overall, with a decent haul of medals. But there shouldn't be any resting on our laurels. There is still room to grow, especially if the aim is to produce the next Lee Chong Wei or Nicol David, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when enough people care not just when someone wins, but while they are still training, still struggling, still wondering whether it is all worth it.

So yes, this dinner on the ninth of May is just one single event of speeches, food, polite applause, but behind it is something a little more important. An acknowledgement that if we want champions, we have to build the environment that allows them to emerge. Otherwise, that nice tagline remains just a tagline. And it would be a shame if that were the case.

#badminton #squash #snooker