19 May

ONE of the occasions that Myanmar National Flag is hoist-ed and Myanmar national anthem is broadcasted is when Myanmar athletes win the gold medal. Regardless of where the competitions host  in Myanmar or in other countries, when it comes to winning the gold medal, this is the time when the patriotism arouses and the country is overvalued amidst other countries.  Undeniably, sports can raise the dignity and value of the country and the citizenry in the eyes of the international community.

Here, we all can sense how sweet the victory of winning the gold medal. At the same time, the triumph “A gold medal” is not some-thing that can be gained easily, it is the real hard battle. Only when the athlete’s stamina, perseverance, will, hard work, the technique, a good trainer, practice can meet together, the athlete can overcome so many steps of competition and he or she can be eligible to win the battle for the gold medal.

When I am selected as a liaison officer for the 19th ASEAN Uni-versity Games, I have the chance to see how the athletes had to strive to be a gold medalist. They could not lose even one point, one minute to surpass the rivals. Then, I can more understand this quote “Hard work beats talent.” For someone who have an intrinsic talent, he or she can be a silver medalist or bronze medalist, nevertheless, a gold medalist cannot be only with his talent, his talent must be comple-mented with his hard work and struggle. In the 19th ASEAN Univer-sity Games, among various kinds of sports, some sports are very accustomed to Myanmar athletes but some sports are not in touch with Myanmar athletes. The stadium where Myanmar national flag is hoisted frequently is Chinlone& Sepaktakraw which is the traditional, national sport of Myanmar. The best rivals for My-anmar Chinlone team are Thailand team and Laos team whose countries have very similar cultures. When our team wins the gold medal, the scene of the populace and Myanmar athletes celebrating this triumph is joyous.  In other stadiums, I am sure Myanmar audiences are willing to sing the national anthem in chorus proudly and frequently.

As we all know, the value of a gold med-al on the athletes, the nation, the populace outweigh an inanimate gold metal. Thus, at secondary and high schools, introduc-ing the basic practice to the sports such as karate, Judo, badminton, etc can encourage the students to take up some sports in their free time. This is also a good way that can keep the students from taking up most of their time by playing games, watching television. When Myanmar youths become accustomed to various sports with the systematic technique, as the saying goes “Practice makes Perfect, I am certain Myan-mar prospective athletes can win the victory in every competition.

To conclude, I salute all the gold medalists who can build a touchstone for the country.  I encourage Myanmar youths and Myanmar athletes to try our best to overwhelm any stadium by continuous claps on behalf of the Myanmar citizens. Currently, a Kachin, Aung La Nsang (Bur-mese Python) is supported by everyone, regardless of race, age, and everyone is proud of what he achieved over the years in defend-ing his title. This is the evidence how the dignity of a brilliant sports-man is recognized in the heart of Myanmar populace. I sincerely look forward to the emergence of heroic sportsmen and sportswomen for our motherland.

By May Thu Htay
2nd year Honours Student, English Specialization, University of Yangon