I Never Meant to Become an Athlete

I just wanted to sweat more.

That was it. Over a decade ago, I was doing my master's degree and I could feel myself getting soft. I decided to be more active. In my mind, I was thinking about joining hiking or jogging groups to meet like-minded people. So I went to Meetup.com to find a group.

And there I saw lacrosse.

I figured I'll try it once because I thought it would be a cool thing to say I tried lacrosse. I also pictured something casual. People tossing a ball around a park, maybe. Easy enough. I signed up for one session.

Boy, was I wrong. Movies distorted my view of this sport. I had no idea it was a full-field contact sport. Complete with goalposts, and you score like you would football, by shooting the ball into the net. Having played team sports before, I was hooked.

More interestingly, the people I met were not there to just play the game. All of them were passionate about growing the game and were incredibly welcoming in teaching us the basics of the game. Of course, there's not much game to be played when there's only 4-6 of us during that session. But the fact that they were there at all spoke volume on how much they love the sport.

That one weekend turned into another. Then another. Then you stop counting weeks and it becomes months, and then you stop counting months and it becomes years, and then you stop counting years altogether.

And now it's been over a decade.

I didn't just find people to sweat with. I found my tribe. And somewhere in there, without fully realising it, I found a genuine passion for a sport that originated halfway across the globe.

Asian Lacrosse Games 2026

Fast forward to 2026. I'm in Chengdu, China, representing Malaysia at the Asian Lacrosse Games.

A lot had changed since 2015. That year I had the chance to represent Malaysia in ASPAC 2015 in Bangkok. Back then, we could only field four Malaysians on the team. This time, we had a full Malaysian squad.

With a full team, we trained together for over a year, hard and consistently, and the results showed. We brought home Malaysia's first ever medal in lacrosse. Bronze.

We brought home Malaysia's first ever medal in lacrosse. Bronze.

Goddamn.

We did it.

I remember being nervous halfway through the 3rd place match. I made a couple of mistakes, and my head spiralled a little. But that's the thing about being in a team; they don't let you disappear into your own head. We picked each other up, stayed together, and fought all the way to the final whistle.

Literal blood, sweat, and tears were shed throughout that week.

Standing there with that medal, I kept thinking about who I was ten years before. A young, scraggly, unfit guy who never once thought of himself as someone athletic. And yet, there I was.

I realised my efforts hadn't betrayed me. In the two years leading up to Chengdu, I fasted and dropped from 94kg to 79kg. I started going to the gym. I trained with the team twice a week. I didn't notice it happening in real time, but I was becoming an athlete. The kind I genuinely never imagined I could be.

I experienced the phrase, "If you want it badly enough and take action, nothing is actually out of reach."

All the thanks in the world

None of this happens without the people around.

First and always, my wife and kids. Who supported, understood, and gave me the time I needed to be away from home to train.

To Jake, Wataru, and Hiroshi: you brought lacrosse to Malaysia. Everything that came after starts with you three.

To my family, especially my siblings who are also part of this community: Daniel, I'm looking at you to be part of Malaysia's next winning team. And Sarah, to be part of Malaysia's founding national women's team.

To the boys on the team: you're nuts and I love you all for it.

To Coach Mike and Coach Luis: both of you changed how we played. Directly and visibly.

To Harith and the rest of the MLA committee: Chengdu happened because of your work. Thank you.

And to everyone in the Malaysia lacrosse community, in any capacity: this is ours, collectively.

So what's next?

For Malaysia Lacrosse

For the Malayan Tigers, we're building on this momentum. We'll be competing at KLFS 2026 in KL and ASPAC 2026 in Australia, and with that comes a shot at qualifying for the Olympics 2028. Growing the game aside, we're starting to compete on a scale we have never imagined before.

For me personally

I will keep growing lacrosse in Malaysia and the surrounding region in ways I have always wanted to: a shop, an academy, and game times.

In 2024, I launched Laxlah.com, the first lacrosse-focused shop in Malaysia and possibly in Southeast Asia to serve the community in this region. That stays true as long as I breathe.

In 2025, Laxlah partnered with MLA to host the KL Lacrosse Series, the first premier Sixes Lacrosse tournament in SEA. The 2026 edition is coming.

Same year, we started KL Lacrosse Academy. Groundwork is underway. Schools across KL have been introduced to the game. Amongst them are shcools like ISKL, Epsom, Concord, GIS. The central academy is launching in Ampang soon.

To think how it all started because I wanted to be more active, and now we've brought back medals for our nation. That's crazy to think about. The ten years have been worth all the while.

Thanks for reading. More good news soon.

Put out.