KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 ― Bitter disappointment and fury.
That describes the sentiment of Malaysia’s Rio Olympics medallists.
Their medals should be their most treasured possessions.
But all of them have revealed:
― Colour is fading.
― Bits and pieces are coming off.
― Feels cheap.
Shuttlers Lee Chong Wei, Goh V. Shem, Tan Wee Kiong, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying won silver, as did divers Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong.
Cyclist and new world champion Azizulhasni Awang won bronze in keirin.
They have all expressed their anger.
Chong Wei, who has two other silver medals from the 2008 and 2012 Games, was furious.
“I’ll speak to OCM (Olympic Council of Malaysia) when I get back from the Sudirman Cup. I hope they can help me get a replacement,” he said.
“It’s a precious memento but it doesn’t look or feel like that.”
Paralympians Abdul Latif Romly and Ziyad Zolkefli, however, said their gold medals were still in good condition.
A total of 2,488 medals were produced for the Olympics and hundreds more for the Paralympics.
