Aug 19, 2016 is probably a day that I am happier than on my wedding day.

In the morning I watched history being written and his legendary status confirmed... for Usain Bolt, the human form of Halley’s Comet. Later in the evening I saw three excellent badminton matches. First, Lee Chong Wei played his hearts out in an epic match to beat Lin Dan in the badminton semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro. Then the women’s singles and men’s doubles finals. What a day...

The commentator, an ‘ang moh’, used all the superlatives to describe the first match. He made it more interesting by mentioning how Malaysians would be reacting in the major cities in our country and our famous battle cry ‘Malaysia Boleh’, numerous times. When Chong Wei was trailing, he did mention ‘mati lah’. His commentaries were superb and at times, witty. He did a marathon commentary until the end. Our commentators could pick a point or two from him.

In the morning, I said to my jogging ‘kakis’ it may not be Chong Wei’s day.

But the man of the moment, in a would-be podium-topping match, displayed superb mental strength and confidence to prove me wrong. How I wish more of my country-persons, both in sports and the rest, to have that mental strength and never-say- die attitude. It would make it easier for us to become a developed nation and not just high-income. Not too long ago we had that confidence and wherever I went overseas, it was ‘Malaysia Bagus’.

After the epic match, there was a wonderful show of sportsmanship between Chong Wei and Lin Dan. Given, they are good friends but the body language and respect one has for the other is something I have never seen before. They have made badminton an attractive, entertaining and an intelligent sport.

Let me skip the women’s singles because it was between India and Spain.

We were just a whisker away from getting our very first gold medal at the Olympics in the men’s doubles. Our pair was a surprise finalist and they showed maturity. They had two match points. It’s all right boys... you have time on your side to prove to the world ‘Malaysia Boleh’. You are very close already.

To my dear and lovely wife, the happiest day of my life is our engagement day... without it, there is no wedding day. Remember, we celebrated our engagement anniversary in Eastern Europe and the Balkans?