The end of a hope

A few hours ago, the whole nation was hoping for our first gold in the Olympics. The signs were good. Lee Chong Wei is seeded second, and he played a solid game going through to the finals. But he is up against the world's number one, Lin Dan from China.

Can a Malaysian be mentally strong enough to win away from home?

We saw Venus Williams crumbled under pressure when being heckled by the big Chinese crowd. In the game against Li Na, she lost the handle, committing so many unforced errors and double faults on her way to the exit.

And the Chinese crowd can really be zealous and rowdy. They cheer on every mistakes you make, and disrupt your concentration so bad that you started to make more mistakes.

And that was what exactly happened to Chong Wei. He lost the first set tamely to Lin Dan, 12-21. From the moment the game started, Lin Dan was in control. He played a perfect game, ripping Chong Wei apart mercilessly.

The second set had the same story. Lin Dan raced to an 8-0 lead before Chong Wei finally got on the scoreboard. It ended as quick as the first set, with Chong Wei soundly defeated 8-21. All those expectations, all those hopes, in the end were too heavy for Chong Wei to carry on his shoulder.

Yet another silver medal. And another four years wait for our first gold.