Latest news with #Tokyo2020
The Star
3 hours ago
- General
- The Star
Liek Hou grateful for award from King
Liek Hou: 'I am proud of this achievement. To me, it's like I have reached a different level because I have brought glory to the country on the international stage.' KUALA LUMPUR: National para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is thankful for the Bintang Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) awarded to him in conjunction with the official birthday celebration of, King of Malaysia, at Istana Negara on Monday. Liek Hou described the award from Sultan Ibrahim as an extraordinary recognition of his badminton career. 'I am proud of this achievement. To me, it's like I have reached a different level because I have brought glory to the country on the international stage,' he said. Liek Hou was among 14 individuals who received the KMN award at the presentation of the 2025 federal awards, medals and honours in conjunction with His Majesty's official birthday. Currently, Liek Hou is focusing on his recovery process from a leg injury before returning to competitive action next year. The 37-year-old is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist, having emerged victorious in the men's SU5 category at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 editions. He has also won the world title 14 times in two categories - men's singles (eight times) and men's doubles (six times). — Bernama
The Sun
15 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
Liek Hou thankful for KMN award from King
NATIONAL para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is thankful for the Bintang Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) he was awarded in conjunction with the official birthday celebration of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, at Istana Negara yesterday. Liek Hou described the award from Sultan Ibrahim as an extraordinary recognition of his badminton career. 'I am proud of this achievement. As everyone knows, His Majesty is very strict in giving out such awards and it's not easy to obtain. 'To me, it's like I have reached a different level because I have brought glory to the country on the international stage,' he said when contacted by Bernama today. Liek Hou was among 14 individuals who received the KMN award at the presentation of the 2025 federal awards, medals and honours in conjunction with His Majesty's official birthday. Liek Hou, at the same time, said he wishes to fully focus on his recovery process from a leg injury before returning to competitive action next year. The 37-year-old is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist, having emerged victorious in the men's SU5 category at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 editions. He has also won the world title 14 times in two categories - men's singles (eight times) and men's doubles (six times).
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Daley looks back: ‘My management said if I came out, I'd lose sponsorship'
Interactive Born in Plymouth in 1994, Tom Daley is Britain's most decorated diver. He was 13 when he made history as Britain's youngest competitor at the 2008 Olympics, and the following year became a world champion. He won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with his synchronised diving partner, Matty Lee, before retiring from diving in 2024. He is married to the screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, with whom he has two sons. The documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, is available to stream on Discovery+ from 1 June. Advertisement I used to be obsessed with wearing tea towels. I'd make sure the fabric was completely lined-up and tucked in neatly. If it was in the slightest bit ruffled or messy, I would get upset and rip it off and try it all over again. This was the beginning of my perfectionism – and possibly the first signs that I might not be 100% straight. My mum says that as a kid, I was very sweet but I knew what I wanted. What did I want? To do the best I could at anything that I tried. That is still my mentality today. If I'm going to try something and it doesn't work out perfectly, I don't have tantrums any more, but I do get frustrated. That's the thing about being an athlete: being good is not enough – you have to be the best. It's not something you can teach, but every athlete who gets to an Olympic level has that same drive. We know our flaws before anybody else can point them out. I was seven when I started diving. I loved the water but found swimming up and down a little bit boring – diving was much more fun. I started out jumping off the side of the pool, then tried the one-metre. The first time I tried the 10-metre platform I was eight years old. I remember crawling to the edge because I was too scared to walk – the board seemed to reduce in size with every step and suddenly looked like a tightrope. I was peering off into the water, thinking: 'There's no way I can jump off this.' But once I was in the air, there was no going back. It was a surreal and euphoric moment – freefalling for 1.6 seconds. As soon as it was over, I knew I wanted to do it again. My childhood was brilliant. I was always outdoors, and we used to go for weekends away in our caravan in Newquay. I felt very safe, loved and cared for. Because I was so happy with my family, I used to hate travelling for competitions – I would get so homesick. It was terrifying to be on the other side of the planet from your parents when you're 10 years old – especially when everyone else competing was much older. I can't imagine how painful it was for my parents to hear their son crying on the end of the phone. Advertisement Related: Jeff Goldblum looks back: 'My brother was an interesting dude. When he died it was terrible, monumental' My dad Rob was my biggest cheerleader. He would work all day, pick me up from school, take me to the pool and stay all evening until I finished training. He would be there for every competition. We were a team, and it was our dream together. He was great at teaching me about perspective: if I bombed out at a competition, he would say: 'You came 30th, but you're still the 30th best in the world.' When dad died [of a brain tumour in 2011], I went to training the next morning. I carried on competing without a proper break. Maybe it's a British thing, but me and my family wouldn't speak about his passing that much. It's as if we didn't want to upset anyone, or make them feel uncomfortable. I also felt that I had to be the strong one – the person who could support my family. It was only when I met my husband Lance, and he would ask why I didn't speak about my dad, that I allowed myself the space to grieve. And it still hits me now, especially when those major milestones happen. He missed me winning my first Olympic medal, my wedding, my first son's birth. Lance and I met at a dinner in 2013. We talked and talked until we both realised how similar our lives were. He had just lost his brother; I'd lost my dad. He had just won his Oscar; I had just won an Olympic medal. It was the first time I could complain about success to somebody who knew I wasn't really complaining about success. I was complaining about how to deal with what happens on the other side – the pressure and expectations. Knowing that nothing would ever compare to that feeling again. Advertisement I met Lance in March and came out to the media nine months later. I don't think I would ever have said anything about my private life unless I had met someone like Lance. Once we fell in love, I knew I couldn't keep it a secret. It was absolutely terrifying, posting the video on YouTube, because my management at the time had not been encouraging, and told me that I was going to lose my sponsorship. It was a scary thing to do, but once it was out there I was glad. It took all of the pressure off. I could be me for the first time. In 2024, I competed at the Paris Olympics, this time with my sons in tow. Being a dad was still my priority, so I had to deal with running on low sleep. I went to bed at 8 o'clock, because I didn't know how many times I'd be up in the night. I'd wake early for training but would make sure I was home to help Lance with bedtime. I always found it incredibly difficult to leave them for competitions, and I carried a sense of guilt with me. My husband is so supportive, and he's sacrificed a lot for me. But now I've retired, it's his moment. He's like: 'It's my turn to get my career back on track!' I have been an athlete for most of my life, so it's taking time to adjust to my new reality. I am so used to being disciplined that even if I'm out for dinner on a Saturday night, and someone asks if I'd like a glass of wine, it takes me a second to realise I am actually allowed to. Food is the same. When I was about to go to the 2012 Olympics, I was told by a coach that I needed to lose weight. After that, I had some issues with eating disorders. At the time it was something that men didn't really speak about, so I kept it to myself and felt very alone. Once I was able to get the proper nutritional support and learned more about what my body needed, and how to fuel it, then my recovery started to unfold. But in truth, that feedback still affects me today. I know how I can look, and how I did feel, at my peak. Now that I'm not training six hours a day, six days a week, I am never going to be in that same form. When I look at this photo, I think about how innocent I look. The boy in the photo has no sense of what society thinks is right or wrong. I could live and be happy and free. I am so glad my parents were the kind of people who celebrated whoever I was; an Olympian diver or a boy who liked to wear tea towels around his waist.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain set to launch her boxing academy in Guwahati
After bringing laurels to the country in the sport of boxing, Tokyo 2020 Olympics medallist Lovlina Borgohain is all set to embark on a new chapter. To prepare a future generation of medal-winning boxers, Borgohain is establishing her own academy in Guwahati, the Lovlina Boxing Academy, which will open its doors on June 3. The inauguration ceremony will be graced by the presence of the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain. While sharing her vision for the academy, Lovlina said, "This academy is more than just a training facility; it's a dream realised and a promise kept to myself and to the countless young boys and girls in Assam who dream of stepping into the ring. With the Lovlina Boxing Academy, my deepest desire is to create a nurturing environment where aspiring athletes not only learn the art of boxing but also develop the resilience, discipline, and unwavering spirit needed to succeed.' The academy is a testament to Lovlina's commitment to nurturing raw talent and providing them with world-class training and infrastructure. It also marks a historic step in the development of sports and sporting infrastructure in the Northeast region of India. Lovlina is eyeing her third straight summer Olympics but will take it one step at a time from here on. Lovlina, who returned empty-handed from Paris 2024, had said the Los Angeles 2028 was very much in her plans. 'Tokyo was during Covid times. Paris was a real learning curve. I did my best and have no regrets that I could not win a medal. For every athlete, there are lessons to be learnt and I want to be wiser leading into LA,' Lovlina had told SAI Media earlier this year.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
3-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King announces retirement after 2025 season
Decorated American swimmer and breaststroke specialist Lilly King is stepping away from competition after the 2025 Toyota National Championships in June. On Saturday, King took to Instagram to announce that this season he will be her swan song after initially naming the 2024 Summer Olympics as her last ride. Advertisement 'Well folks, my time has come,' she captioned a series of pictures from her career. 'This will be my final season competing. I'm fortunate heading into retirement being able to say I have accomplished everything I have ever wanted in this sport. I feel fulfilled. 'That being said, it has always been important to me that my last meet in the US be at the pool that started it all. I have been racing in the IU Natatorium since I was 10 years old,' King continued. 'From state meets, to NCAAs, Nationals, and anything in between, this pool has been my home.' 'I didn't quite make it 20 years (only 18) of racing in Indy, but this is as close as I'm gonna get! I look forward to racing in front of a home crowd one last time. See you in Indy!' Advertisement The Evansville, Indiana native will swim her final meet in her home state as the top seed in the 100-yard breaststroke and No. 2 seed in the 50-yard breaststroke. Despite winning the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, King will not be competing in the 200-yard breaststroke come June. She also finished eighth in the event in 2024 at the Paris Olympics. King represented the the U.S. in three Olympic Games, winning gold in the women's 100 breaststroke and the 4×100 medley relay in 2016. It was that 100 breaststroke medal that made King a breakthrough star in Rio, as she famously called out Russia's Yuliya Yefimova over past failed doping tests, then beat her in the pool. In 2020, King bagged silver in the 200-yard breaststroke, silver in the women's 4×100 medley relay and bronze in the 100-yard breaststroke. She wrapped up her Olympic career finishing 4th in the 100 breast in Paris after missing the bronze medal by 0.01 seconds. King also swam in a world record performance (3:49.63) in the women's 4×100 medley relay for the Americans. The record-breaking performance capped her final Olympic effort in with gold. Advertisement Before turning pro in 2019, King competed at Indiana. As a freshman, she won the NCAA title in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke for the Hoosiers. King's last meet will be held at the Indiana University Natatorium from June 3-7.
