In 1992, a female athlete from Sarawak came back from the Barcelona Olympics with a medal around her neck. There wasn’t much fanfare greeting her triumph — a cultural dance troupe welcomed her home at the airport, and that was all. The athlete was Taekwondo exponent Hii King Hung, who won the bronze in the sport that was held for the first time as a demonstration sport. The word “demonstration” was a misnomer as King Hung had to fight all the way to the semi-finals and her medal was due to her competing in the event, and not displaying her form and skill. “When I came back from the Olympics, there was no grand welcoming. There were promises of rewards but the rewards amounted to RM9,000 from the National Sports Council and another lesser amount from the state. But at least that was something,” said King Hung, who now works in her hometown of Sibu for the Sarawak State Sports Council. When she was young, King Hung
went against the wishes of her father and joined her school’s Taekwondo club.
“Nobody encouraged me to join Taekwondo except Sibu instructor Dr Henry Toh while my school instructor mentored me in the sport. It was my neighbour whom I followed to attend Taekwondo classes, for without her I might not have gotten into the sport. Besides Taekwondo, I also did long distance running in school and represented my school in netball and basketball. “I was so crazy about Taekwondo, at that time when martial arts was popular and I was very motivated.
“Tasting my first major victory when I won gold gave me the encouragement to pursue the sport,” she related. In a twist of fate, the late Datuk Taha Ariffin, who was Deputy State Secretary, saw her potential in another sport silat and asked her to try it out. She accepted the new move into a different sport and found her transition from Taekwondo to silat smooth.
“I was very honoured that in our state there was acceptance of me as a Chinese to take part in the Malay pugilistic sport. Sarawak is unique in that sense.” King Hung recalled during her time in the 90s, there was no allowance for training, “unlike now, you have everything. We trained and competed in the sport due to sheer interest and passion for the sport.” She also related an incident that overshadowed her triumphant return from Barcelona.
“When I returned, my victory was overshadowed by an unfortunate incident. “A young boy in Sibu sparring with his Korean counterpart died after he received bodily blows. It was termed as an accident. “That incident marked a black chapter in the sport as it came as a shock to everyone in the state,” she said. She lamented the dark side of the sport today, which is marked by too much politics while many parents do not encourage their children to take up the sport, unlike before.
“It was not easy. We had to sacrifice our time and put in a lot of effort to represent our country at the Olympics. “I had to fight tooth and nail and I was unlucky, but that’s life. It was wrong timing as I was not accorded due recognition,” said King Hung. “I guess I was unlucky on several counts. First, the sport was called a demo sport and only when it was many years later in South Korea where the Olympics were held that Taekwondo was accepted as an Olympic sport. I was not duly recognised as a true Olympic medallist.
“For me, being the first Sarawakian to win an Olympic medal and not getting all the recognition was rather unlucky. “It’s not my luck even though I won an Olympic medal,” she said. “They think it is very easy to be national athlete but we have to control our diet and work very hard to become national champion. We need to train ourselves in agility and I’ve suffered many injuries like ligament tear.” Even though her bronze in a demo Olympic sport may not mean much to many people but for King Hung, she is proud to have earned it through hard work and talent.
