KUALA LUMPUR: Actor Farid Kamil is excited to play badminton legend Datuk Rashid Sidek in his latest film, Gold.
In a recent news report Farid said that he had not held a badminton racket for almost 30 years, and was made to learn the sport again in order to play Rashid.
"The last time I played badminton was when I was 13 years old. It is an honour to play Rashid whom I greatly admire. It is a milestone for my acting career as it has made me play badminton, my childhood favourite sport once more."
Although filming ended a year ago, Farid has "rekindled his love" for badminton and plays it almost every week.
He said that to prepare for the role of Rashid, he spent a month and a half training three hours daily in the badminton court with help from national player Adelle Ng.
He also consumed a nutritious diet to become slim and trim.
"The biggest challenge I had to do was lose weight from 87 to 60 kilograms."
Farid has called on his fans to watch his new film that is aimed at encouraging all national athletes to fight hard in the upcoming Olympics.
"I hope this film will be a source of inspiration for national athletes to fight all the way, especially national badminton players."
Gold the true story of national paralympic badminton player Cheah Liek Hou and is directed by Adrian Teh.
Besides Farid, it also stars Jack Tan, Fabian Loo, Wan Raja and Yasmin Hani.
Gold premieres in cinemas today.