About 12 years ago, I suffered asthma.. It kept me prone for quite some time. As I grew older, I picked up soccer and athletics to fight asthma, after every game I end up gasping for the limitless air around me in vain. By every game I got more determined to dismiss asthma... then I was 14, out of the blue, I picked up tennis not only as a hobby, but I took it as my career... my parents asked why, and I found a photograph of me holding my dad's tennis racket. Though he hasn't played tennis since he graduated, he still kept the racket; so it was his fault!!
Game after game, I improved and by 17, I was Terengganu's No. 2 junior player. My game was drastically improving. I wanted to be a pro as much as ever.
Then it happened, UiTM held a tournament, I was drawn a wildcard and was expected to play after a couple of months' rest.. so I packed and made my way to the arena, training went well, hard, but well, I managed to get back into my game.
Match day, 1st round was awesome. I was called out to play in the main court against one of the best players in the draw, a player with an arguably great reputation; and I totally destroyed him. I took control of the match since the coin toss and had no mercy against him. He's got a big serve, a backhand that makes me jealous and a daring topspin in his arsenal, so unfortunate that my grunts kept him out of focus -I'm just loud. With a devastating 9-0 victory, I booked a 2nd round match against the tournament's third seed.
Second round match, I got first serve but this guy just returns every serve I throw at him -well, almost all. I fought back for the first game. It took like almost 15 minutes of serving and rallying just to get to an advantage and then, just as I got the upper hand, I noticed my breathing becoming really heavy, my chest was in pain and my arms were shaking. It taunted me to notice asthmatic signs but I kept it cool, I served and collapsed to the ground. My opponent immediately noticed my breathing failure and took advantage. My friends called me to forfeit the match, but I was just not ready for it yet.. I kept my pace till the end of the match, the asthma got worse, and I went down fighting. the match ended 9-0. Devastating. I know..
