It is the season for the SEA games and this time, it is held in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
Up until now, we have seen many displays of wonderful sportsmanship from athletes from South-East Asian countries. However, one occasion that made a huge impression on us was during the Women’s 5,000m race on 8 May when Cambodian athlete Bou Samnang ran in the rain.
The race was dominated by Vietnamese track star Nguyen Thi Oanh who finished with an impressive timing of 17 minutes and 28 seconds but the spotlight was on last-placed Bou Samnang who finished the race almost six minutes later after the winner.
In a video snippet of the race on ESPN Asia’s Facebook page, we see Bou Samnang running on the track in the heavy rain.
She was keeping a consistent pace while heading towards the finish line but once she reached it and stopped, some supporters cheered for her. She acknowledged them by putting her palms together and shaking them in their direction.
The athlete then bent down and started crying; someone handed her a Cambodian flag which she used to wipe her tears with before bowing to her supporters once again.
Many netizens who watched the video were touched by her resolve to never give up.
According to Channel News Asia, Bou was given 250 USD (RM1,115) by the information minister Khieu Kanharith.
This certainly brought tears to our eyes. We hope that many will be inspired by Bou and will not give up on the things that they do.
