THE national women's badminton prospects for Olympic glory grew in recent years after decades of being in the shadow of their male counterparts.
We remember the triumphs of the Sidek brothers, who paved the way for Lee Chong Wei and Lee Zii Jia.
The women's ascendancy continues with the exciting doubles pair of Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah.
They took down Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of Korea, but just could not get pass China's Great Wall and world No. 1 Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan in the semi-finals.
Tan and Thinaah are successors of the "original Malaysian melting pot": Punch Gunalan and Ng Boon Bee.
The Punch-Boon Bee pairing in the 1970s was regarded as the 'muhibbah' combination, whereas Tan and Thinaah are seen as Malaysian champions, peaking nicely at the Paris Olympics.
Other than Hari Raya open houses hosted by the king, prime minister and other leaders, nothing unites Malaysians better than rooting for our Olympic athletes.
Malaysia first competed in the festival in Melbourne in 1956.
We even sent an Alpine skier and a figure skater to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games. The 1972 Munich Olympic football team, under the guidance of coach Jalil Che Din and leadership of captain M. Chandran, became household names.
The magical 1980 football team, featuring Soh Chin Aun, A. Arumugam, Shukor Salleh and James Wong, defeated South Korea in the pre-Olympic qualification final, but was denied a Moscow appearance due to a boycott.
In all Olympic editions, citizens rejoiced and despaired over the fortunes of Malaysia's athletes, who have bagged 13 silver and bronze medals. The gold remains elusive.
The Games have helped forge national unity, and if we're fortunate enough, this cohesiveness will be with us long after the Olympic flame goes out.
The Olympic spirit professes a peaceful and better world, requiring mutual understanding supported by friendship, solidarity and fair play. Unsurprisingly, Malaysia regularly enlightened beliefs, even as bickering over other matters continue. The idea then is about possessing the nous, commitment and courage to convert the Olympic character into a national psyche, one that can endure our darkest moments.
That's the point: the Olympics are not just about the glory, but also the struggle and refusal to capitulate, even when the best accomplishment is finishing last.