[REVIEW] Gold: The Emotional Journey Behind M’sia’s First Paralympic Badminton Gold Medalist

Although Malaysia may not have the best record when it comes to the Olympic games, we can’t help but appreciate and feel a sense of patriotism for our fellow sportsmen and women for their dedication towards their sports, especially when you consider the journeys they’ve been on and obstacles they’ve faced to reach that point.

The journeys of these sportspeople were definitely highlighted in Gold, an inspiring movie about the trials and tribulations faced by Cheah Liek Hou on his road to clinching the first Paralympic badminton gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The film, produced by Astro Shaw in association with Act 2 Pictures, Clover Films, and One Cool Entertainment, had a stellar cast consisting of Farid Kamil, Jack Tan, Wan Raja, Fabian Loo, Freddie Ng, Josiah Hogan, Daniel Cheah, Yasmin Hani, Lynn Lim, Meeki Ng, with special appearances by Tony Eusoff, Nafiez Zaidi, and Ikhram Juhari. This sports action film also features the theme song ‘Kita Pasti Boleh’ sung by Kaka Azraff, Daniel Sher, and Saint T.F.C.

It was directed by box office hit director Adrian Teh, known for PASKAL The Movie and Malbatt Misi Bakara.

Executive Producer and Director of Gold Adrian Teh remarked that he first had the idea of turning Cheah Liek Hou’s life into a movie after watching a clip of the emotional scene between Rashid Sidek and Cheah after having bagged the gold medal.

Gold starts with a scene depicting how badminton can unite Malaysians. People of various races come together, including a young Liek Hou, to cheer on Rashid Sidek and Malaysia’s win in the 1992 Thomas Cup final against Indonesia.

This moment inspired Liek Hou to take up badminton, dream of becoming a world-class shuttler, and make his mark in the national sports arena.

The film then chronicles young Liek Hou's development in badminton with his father’s support despite his mother’s discouragement. However, the turning point came later when Liek Hou discovered something was wrong with his right shoulder, which was revealed to be a nerve disease known as Erb’s Palsy.

As Liek Hou struggled to bounce back and find his love once again for the sport, with his father’s encouragement, he decided to start competing in various para-badminton tournaments worldwide, where he found success.

However, after his father’s sudden death and his family’s worsening financial situation, Liek Hou decided to ditch the sport for good to focus on working a desk job to aid his family.

Although this seemed to put an end to his dream of winning a Paralympic gold medal, which he promised his father, he decided to follow his dreams once again and undergo a rigorous training regime with Rashid Sidek upon finding out that badminton was included in the Paralympic Games for the first time.

The film then concludes with Liek Hou’s win over World No.1 Dheva Anrimusthi of Indonesia in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Image Credit: Astro Shaw

Overall, we enjoyed the film, which filled us with a sense of patriotism and gave us an insight into the obstacles our sportspeople face and everything they’ve had to sacrifice to do what they love.

Furthermore, all the badminton-related scenes felt natural and not overly exaggerated, a testament to Jack Tan’s and Farid Kamil’s intense training for their roles.

One scene we loved, in particular, was the intertwining of real-time footage of the moment when Liek Hou won along with the film’s scenes.

The movie is simply a must-watch in light of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic games, as mentioned by Adrien Teh, who hopes that the film will inspire everyone, especially the athletes, motivating them to continue striving and bring glory to the nation.

Watch the trailer below: