• Business
    • Case Studies
    • Companies
    • Growth
    • Strategy
  • Functional
    • Finance
    • HR
    • Marketing
    • Science & Tech
  • Leadership
    • Be a Leader
    • Books
    • LDR Show
    • Leadership Nuggets
    • Movie Wisdom
    • Soundbytes
    • Women & Leadership
  • Personal
    • Character
    • Values
    • Competence
  • Soundbytes
  • Free E-mag
  • Videos
  • About Us
Leaderonomics.com
Leaderonomics.com
  • Business
    • Case Studies
      Embracing Digital To Power Growth

      Embracing Digital To Power Growth

      Malaysia: Celebrating A Nation's History

      Malaysia: Celebrating A Nation's History

      Lessons from 3M: Why Investing In R&D Is Your Ticket To Success

      Lessons from 3M: Why Investing In R&D Is Your Ticket To Success

      Developing Support Systems For Occupational Stress: A Critical Need

      Developing Support Systems For Occupational Stress: A Critical Need

    • Companies
      Simple Mindset Changes To Evolve As A Leader

      Simple Mindset Changes To Evolve As A Leader

      6 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Be Grateful for in 2019

      6 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Be Grateful for in 2019

      Leading The 200-Year-Old Postal Service In The 21st Century

      Leading The 200-Year-Old Postal Service In The 21st Century

      Changing The Outlook of Learning

      Changing The Outlook of Learning

    • Growth
      Embracing Digital To Power Growth

      Embracing Digital To Power Growth

      Simple Mindset Changes To Evolve As A Leader

      Simple Mindset Changes To Evolve As A Leader

      Leadership Lessons From Madam Secretary

      Leadership Lessons From Madam Secretary

      The New World Of Work Workers & Workplaces

      The New World Of Work Workers & Workplaces

    • Strategy
      Embracing Change

      Embracing Change

      10 Communication Strategies For New Leaders

      10 Communication Strategies For New Leaders

      How To Build Winning Teams

      How To Build Winning Teams

      The 7 Critical Trends That Make Thought Leadership An Imperative For Any Business

      The 7 Critical Trends That Make Thought Leadership An Imperative For Any Business

  • Functional
    • Finance
      Investing, A Rather Boring Thing To Do

      Investing, A Rather Boring Thing To Do

      Financial Literacy: The Essentials Of A Leader

      Financial Literacy: The Essentials Of A Leader

      A Student's Dilemma: ACCA vs An Accounting Degree

      A Student's Dilemma: ACCA vs An Accounting Degree

      Finance A Must On The Path To CEO

      Finance A Must On The Path To CEO

    • HR
      When Should You Speak Up?

      When Should You Speak Up?

      Driving Value With Digital Transformation Initiatives

      Driving Value With Digital Transformation Initiatives

      10 Communication Strategies For New Leaders

      10 Communication Strategies For New Leaders

      Whistleblowing In Organisations

      Whistleblowing In Organisations

    • Marketing
    • Science & Tech
      How The Frog Virtual Learning Education Is Revolutionising Teaching And Learning

      How The Frog Virtual Learning Education Is Revolutionising Teaching And Learning

      The Latest Developments in the ICT Subsector in Malaysia

      The Latest Developments in the ICT Subsector in Malaysia

      Electrical And Electronics On The Next Level

      Electrical And Electronics On The Next Level

      Going Green Does Have Tangible Benefits

      Going Green Does Have Tangible Benefits

  • Leadership
    • Be a Leader
      Defining the Role of Senior Leadership

      Defining the Role of Senior Leadership

      Leadership Lessons from Ludwig van Beethoven

      Leadership Lessons from Ludwig van Beethoven

      Meaningful Communication: The Key To Solving Workplace Problems

      Meaningful Communication: The Key To Solving Workplace Problems

      Lessons From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

      Lessons From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

    • Books
      Why You Should Assess A Leader’s Capacity For Critical Thinking And Judgment

      Why You Should Assess A Leader’s Capacity For Critical Thinking And Judgment

      5 Skills You Need To Be A Great CEO

      5 Skills You Need To Be A Great CEO

      Be A Giver And A Taker

      Be A Giver And A Taker

      Are You Afraid Of Being An Original In A World Full Of Conformists?

      Are You Afraid Of Being An Original In A World Full Of Conformists?

    • LDR Show
      "You can be competitive without sacrificing your price", Says Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir

      "You can be competitive without sacrificing your price", Says Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir

      “I didn’t learn anything in the books about leadership or management", Says Tan Sri Azman Hashim

      “I didn’t learn anything in the books about leadership or management", Says Tan Sri Azman Hashim

      Attracting And Retaining Talent: Insights from Kimberlyn Lu

      Attracting And Retaining Talent: Insights from Kimberlyn Lu

      The Necessity of Change: Nuggets of Wisdom from Rejie Samuel

      The Necessity of Change: Nuggets of Wisdom from Rejie Samuel

    • Leadership Nuggets
      Leadership in Four Dimensions: Jonas Prising on Human Resources, Malaysia and Leadership

      Leadership in Four Dimensions: Jonas Prising on Human Resources, Malaysia and Leadership

      "Have Intentionality In Your Daily Life", says Kim Underhill

      "Have Intentionality In Your Daily Life", says Kim Underhill

      "Explorers Are Map Makers", Says Jana Stanfield

      "Explorers Are Map Makers", Says Jana Stanfield

      Leadership Nuggets: Worry Not When We Fail

      Leadership Nuggets: Worry Not When We Fail

    • Movie Wisdom
      Lessons From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

      Lessons From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

      Leadership Lessons From Madam Secretary

      Leadership Lessons From Madam Secretary

      Lessons From A 68-Year-Old Classic That Changed The Face Of Visual Storytelling

      Lessons From A 68-Year-Old Classic That Changed The Face Of Visual Storytelling

      Life Lessons From <i>Goodbye Christopher Robin</i>

      Life Lessons From Goodbye Christopher Robin

    • Soundbytes
      Developing A Vision For An Organisation

      Developing A Vision For An Organisation

      How Does Developing Our “Self” Lead To Purpose?

      How Does Developing Our “Self” Lead To Purpose?

      Finishing Our Race Well

      Finishing Our Race Well

      RYG: Leadership Lessons from Joan of Arc

      RYG: Leadership Lessons from Joan of Arc

    • Women & Leadership
      Lessons We Can Learn From Oprah Winfrey

      Lessons We Can Learn From Oprah Winfrey

      RYG: Leadership Lessons from Joan of Arc

      RYG: Leadership Lessons from Joan of Arc

      Leadership Lessons From Joan of Arc

      Leadership Lessons From Joan of Arc

      The Fine Line Between Leadership And Power

      The Fine Line Between Leadership And Power

  • Personal
    • Character
      How Hunger For Praise Hinders Success

      How Hunger For Praise Hinders Success

      The Difference Between Gifts And Bribes

      The Difference Between Gifts And Bribes

      Lessons From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

      Lessons From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

      Balancing Your Weekdays And Weekends

      Balancing Your Weekdays And Weekends

    • Values
      How Hunger For Praise Hinders Success

      How Hunger For Praise Hinders Success

      Defining the Role of Senior Leadership

      Defining the Role of Senior Leadership

      The Difference Between Gifts And Bribes

      The Difference Between Gifts And Bribes

      Living Out The Leaderonomics Core Values

      Living Out The Leaderonomics Core Values

    • Competence
      Balancing Your Weekdays And Weekends

      Balancing Your Weekdays And Weekends

      The Power of Storytelling in Achieving Authentic Leadership

      The Power of Storytelling in Achieving Authentic Leadership

      How To Create A Sense Of Agency In Your Young Ones

      How To Create A Sense Of Agency In Your Young Ones

      The Shocking Truth About Success

      The Shocking Truth About Success

  • Soundbytes
  • Free E-mag
  • Videos
  • About Us
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
Home
Personal
Character

Catching Up With Malaysia’s Olympic Heroine

April 7th, 2017 Character, Personal

Share this article

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Catching Up With Malaysia’s Olympic HeroineCharacter
Vasugi receiving a rousing homecoming upon her return from the 1988 Olympic Games. Pic by S.S Kanesan / THE STAR

LDR-PDF-download-110x110

By PRETHIBA ESVARY

In 1992, Malaysian badminton legends, Jalani and Razif Sidek brought home the first ever Olympic medal in the men’s doubles category. This was a glorious and historic moment for every Malaysian, as we had not seen a win this big since our participation in the Olympics in 1964.

If you dialed it back a little and went back to 1988 when the Seoul Olympics took place, there was a young Malaysian woman named Vasugi Maruthamuthu, who set foot at the Olympics for the first time, and managed to secure a bronze medal for the sport of taekwondo.

What happened?

However, taekwondo at the time was only a demonstration event. It only became a full medal sport 12 years later, at the Sydney Olympics. Hence, her win was not recognised and many did not know of her achievement.

Where is she now?

After reaching the peak of her career, Vasugi wanted to impart the knowledge and experience she had gained from competing at the world arena to young budding fighters. As her way of giving back to the community, she manages and teaches taekwondo at the Viva Taekwondo Club in Bangsar, a premier club affiliated to Taekwondo Malaysia. The now 49-year-old mother of three has been actively involved in grooming young fighters for the past 21 years.

Her early days

When asked how she got into taekwondo, Vasugi said, “My father was involved in a sport known as silambam (a form of Indian martial art), and he wanted me too, to be involved in martial arts, so I registered myself for taekwondo classes held in school.”

Vasugi took part in her first competition at the age of 14 – a year after starting taekwondo – and went on to actively represent Malaysia till she was 23.

She won her first medal, a silver, at the 1987 SEA Games in Jakarta. This marked the start of a growing career in the sport and she went on winning multiple competitions after that, such as the 1989 KL SEA Games, 1990 World Invitational Tournament in KL and 1991 Manila SEA Games. For her contribution to women’s taekwondo, she was awarded the Women’s Development Coach Award in 2003.

While she may not have gained the recognition she deserved, Vasugi’s fight to clinch success in taekwondo has not only moulded her into a better human being, but also taught her valuable life lessons that she currently practices as a mother, trainer, wife, peer and daughter.

Here are two key takeaways we can glean from her:

Lesson #1: You are the limiting factor to your success

Coming from a poor background did not stop Vasugi from pursuing her dreams. Because her family could not afford it at the time, her coach, Yeap Swee Bee, bought Vasugi her first taekwondo uniform. “That really inspired me to be the fighter she thought I could be,” Vasugi told Leaderonomics.

But that was merely the beginning of a long and arduous journey. We all know that the path to success is not easy and it takes multiple failures and obstacles for us to reach the top, even in the corporate world.

Something Vasugi constantly battled with was maintaining her weight, as she had to remain under 43kg to fight in the fin weight category. Some might see this as an obstacle, but in reality it was a blessing in disguise as this pushed her to train hard – three times a day to be specific – and cautiously monitor her food intake, all of which paid off in the long run.

Vasugi gave an instance of her brush with failure. In the finals of the 1987 SEA games competition, she lost to her Indonesian opponent. Instead of throwing in the towel, she used it as a source of motivation to train harder. Her determination, hard work and perseverance paid off when she defeated the same opponent two years later.

Embracing our failures is easier said than done, even in the workplace setting. However, without those slips or blunders, how will we learn and become better at what we do?

“Defeats are a stepping stone towards success,” Vasugi advises.

From left: Vasugi, her husband, Vijesh Rai, and children Vikash Rai, Pooja Rai and Esha Rai. Photo sourced from Vasugi.

Lesson #2: Work hard and persevere, but do it with caution

Vasugi conveyed that her source of motivation and inspiration till today is widely revered boxing champ, Muhammad Ali. “I love that he was never afraid of any bout, and always pushed to his maximum potential in the ring,” she said.

Working hard and pushing yourself to reach, or even go beyond, your limits is great, but at what cost?

We’ve all heard stories of athletes being forced to pull out of competitions at the eleventh hour, as they have yet to recover from physical injuries caused by intense training and mishaps. One small mistake during a training session, and you could be missing a golden opportunity to bag your first gold medal.

Vasugi shared that she while she was thrilled about qualifying for the 1988 Olympics, she was expected to perform and train harder than ever before. Due to the intensity of the training sessions, she suffered a knee injury merely two weeks before leaving for Seoul. “Thankfully, it was a minor ligament strain and I was able to recover and compete in the Olympics,” she said.

For working professionals like us, it’s good to be ambitious and aim high by taking on big projects and vying to close ‘x number of deals’ a month for instance, but it won’t be worth all the effort if you’re burnt out in the end. So, stop and ask yourself if this is worth risking your health and sanity for.

In a nutshell

“Winning and success aren’t rights. They have to be earned and one has to make sacrifices to attain them. This applies not only to sports but also to life in general as you have to earn what you want and not expect to be given,” Vasugi said.

These wise words by Vasugi tell us that we hold the key to our success and the journey to attaining it may be tough, but if you persevere and work hard, you will reach the end of the tunnel.

A key thing to note as well is that your successes and achievements are not the only things that define you, but it is also what you have gained from your life’s experiences and what you currently practice that shapes you to become the person you are today, as what we see with Vasugi.


Her take on Malaysian youths

When Vasugi was asked what youths lack today, she said, “Not much.

“What the government provides for them today is much, much more than what we had during my time.”

“Besides today’s athletes being able to train and compete on a full time basis, they also have the option to secure their future through educational programmes that are in place.”

However, she noted that the one thing youths may lack is the single-mindedness demonstrated by athletes such as Lee Chong Wei and Nicol David whose sole focus has always been on becoming better at their individual sport.

Prethiba Esvary

Prethiba is passionate about impacting people through the written word. She believes that our lives are solely written by us, and thus the power to change for the better lies with us.

Share this :

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Tags
  • art of perseverance
  • Embracing failure
  • failure leads to success
  • Leaderonomics
  • malaysian youths
  • Olympian
  • Olympics
  • PDF
  • Prethiba Esvary
  • silambam
  • sports challenges
  • sportswoman
  • Taekwondo
  • Vasugi
  • Vasugi Maruthamuthu
Next article The Valuable Pains Of Being Your Own Boss
Previous article Hitler Or Gandhi: Choosing Your Path In Leadership

Related Posts

Do You Fight For What Is Right? Leadership

Do You Fight For What Is Right?

Are You Biased Without Knowing It? Character

Are You Biased Without Knowing It?

What Adam Smith Teaches Us About Becoming Happier Be a Leader

What Adam Smith Teaches Us About Becoming Happier

What I Learnt From The DOJO Participants Be a Leader

What I Learnt From The DOJO Participants

Women In Leadership Positions: Where Is Malaysia At? Leadership

Women In Leadership Positions: Where Is Malaysia At?

The Reinvention Of Malaya: Lessons From Tunku Abdul Rahman Be a Leader

The Reinvention Of Malaya: Lessons From Tunku Abdul Rahman

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Bahasa Malaysia | English

Pick of The Week

Feb 4th 7:54 PM
Business

When Should You Speak Up?

Jan 31st 9:00 AM
Business

Embracing Digital To Power Growth

Jan 29th 9:00 AM
Functional

Driving Value With Digital Transformation Initiatives

NEW – On The Leaderonomics Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXY0Z5dJVSI
  • Business
  • Functional
  • Leadership
  • Personal
  • Soundbytes
  • Free E-Mag
  • Videos
  • About Us
  • Back to top

About Leaderonomics.com

Leaderonomics.com is a leadership portal owned by Leaderonomics, a social enterprise passionate about transforming nations through leadership development. Leaderonomics.com features leadership insights, trends, CEOs, thought leaders, HR leaders and inspiring real-life stories for your personal and professional development.

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy      
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this website are those of the writers or the people they quoted and not necessarily those of Leaderonomics.
[Sitemap | RSS]
Copyright © 2010-2019 Leaderonomics Media Sdn Bhd. All rights reserved