Hannah Yeoh's Epic Response To Critics Who Dissed Her For Cheering Thai Olympian Medallist
"I am here to instil a healthy sporting culture for our youth. We are not sore losers," she wrote on Instagram.
By Tamara Jayne — 08 Aug 2024, 10:50 AM
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh recently congratulated Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who won silver for Thailand in the men's singles badminton category at the Paris Olympics
Malaysia's badminton player Lee Zii Jia was defeated by Vitidsarn 21-14, 21-15 in the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics.
In an act of sportsmanship, Yeoh wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, 6 August, "Congratulations @kunlavut.v for winning silver in Paris 2024. I enjoy his style of badminton so much. So calm and collected. He has a new fan in me!"
Many defended Yeoh, stating that celebrating success and showing good sportsmanship toward opponents is not wrong
Yeoh has since responded to the criticism of her post
In a series of Instagram Stories, she shared screenshots outlining Olympic values.
"Point no. 1 - Understand the Olympic values. Respect and friendship. Very basic starting point," she penned.
According to the International Olympic Committee, demonstrating respect involves respecting yourself, the rules, your opponents, the environment, and the public.
"This is the idea of setting your rivalries aside. There is more that unites us than divides us," it states.
"Point no. 2 - When the competition has ended, after receiving your medals, you celebrate the winners. Sportsmanship is about accepting loss when all is fair and being able to acknowledge your rivals in a respectful manner," she continued on.
"Point 3 - This is me congratulating the coaches Tan Kim Her and Jeremy Gan (both Malaysians) when their Japanese athletes won. I am still at point no. 3 to illustrate it's not about being a fan of Kunlavut. I am consistent about practising good sportsmanship and I represent Malaysia. Be honourable even when we lose. So, to our ASEAN neighbour Thailand — I say to you again, 'Congratulations! We should be lifting each other up'," she added.
Yeoh further explained that as the minister who is responsible for both sports and youth, her focus is on fostering a healthy sporting culture, not just on "winning medals at all costs"
"I am here to instil a healthy sporting culture for our youth. We are not sore losers. There is nothing insensitive about acknowledging our rival's strength after the competition. I saw how calm @kunlavut.v was (only 23 years old and ranked no. 8 then) when he defeated world no. 1 Shi Yuqi of China 21-12, 21-10.
"Young people, be brave to call out what is good. If you sit around fearing social media comments, you allow opportunities to display exemplary acts to slip by. Sports teach us invaluable lessons about life and this is why parents must encourage children to do sports. They become stronger when they practise good sportsmanship," she concluded her post.
