#14 Every Strike Brings Me Closer to the Next Home Run

POST UPDATED!!

Just last weekend, I did my first ever LIVE TV hosting on Fox Sports Asia covering the Singapore Grand Prix – Formula One Championship from Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. It was an exhilarating experience and I expected it to be super tough… I was not disappointed.

Live TV hosting is definitely a different level because it not only gave you zero room for errors; it also truly pushes your multi-tasking capabilities to a whole new level. In that little tiny earpiece (that was strategically covered by my hair), I could not only hear my producer’s voice, but the voice of my 4 other co-hosts and 2 cameramen. That’s 7 voices in my head other than the other million voices of my own :p

Safe to say, I think I did a decent enough job pulling through the entire event. I am definitely proud of myself for surviving through being thrown under the bus. I am grateful for the opportunity Fox Sports Asia and Marina Bay Sands have given to me to bump up my experience level in hosting at least a few notches up.

So, I know a lot of people out there are probably wondering how I manage to land such a kick-ass job as a TV Host at Fox Sports. I wish I could tell you all I did was sit on my ass waiting for my phone to ring and hoping the other line was Fox International Channels offering me a job as one of Fox Sports newest TV Host. But let me just say, things are hardly as easy as it may seem. Plus, I’m an avid believer of ‘easy come easy go’. So I am actually more secured knowing I had to go through a whole lot of obstacles before hitting a home run.

I would assume like every other person who got to join the team of Fox Sports TV hosts, they had to go through auditions/interviews/castings. Guess what? I’m no different to the next person. If you’ve been following my social media closely, you would’ve noticed I came down to Singapore several times prior to making the big move. Well, those trips down to Singapore weren’t all for nothing.

I did my part in not only attending the auditions, the interviews, and the training, but also in the networking. At the end of the day, without the networks I had whether through my management or myself, I wouldn’t have the opportunity of scoring an audition. Having said that, without being properly prepared and equipped with experience, I would’ve have gone through the audition stage either. I’m going to admit that, of course, I am incredibly fortunate to have landed this gig in Fox Sports, but hey, I worked my ass off to get to where I am so I do feel like I deserve it too. Which, by the way, is a tremendously good feeling. Knowing you deserve the rewards because you’ve put in the work.

Not to mention, people tend to question my abilities not only in sports but my sporting knowledge as well. I know it’s easy to question my athletic capabilities simply because I don’t look like I am physically capable of being competitive at sports and because I seem to portray the image of your typical girly girl, it usually comes off as a surprise when people hear me talk about sports.

Well, this is where I love to prove people wrong. Those who really know me know my sporting capabilities. I hate to brag but, hey, I gotta clear the air right? 😉

So here’s a list of sporting activities I’ve done in my life and to what level I’ve achieved:

1. GOLF: I began playing golf at the age of 10. Joined my state team at the age of 14 and represented the state of Wilayah Persekutuan at ages 14 and 16 for Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA). At the age of 18 (my final year to participate in SUKMA), the state of Selangor brought me into their team and I finally achieved a gold medal in the group category. I contemplated to turn professional but decided to further my studies in Vancouver, Canada to snag my degree in Business Finance instead.
   

   My golf swing in stop motion!

   

   Wheee! Golf rules!

   

   Gold medalists representing Selangor state at SUKMA 2006!!

   

   We all brought home the gold!! Go team Selangor!!

2. TABLE TENNIS/PING PONG: Played this sport in primary school and represented my school team for 2 years at ages 11 and 12. Once I started getting good at golf, abandoned the game as a competitive sport.
3. CHEERLEADING: I joined my high school’s cheerleading squad, Dynamitez, at the age of 16 and we went to Nationals. We managed to win the runner-up trophy (although being defending champions, we were kind of hoping to be first). At ages 17 and 18, I coached several cheerleading squads.
   

   We are Dynamitez…

   

   … SAY WE ARE DYNAMITEZ!!

   

   One of the team’s I coached during my high school years.. Team UNGGUL! They took the gold home, too 😉

   

   Another team I coached into victory!! My record was pretty sweet 😀 But then again, I had great teams to coach!

   

   In 2009, Cancun, Mexico… I still hadn’t quite lost it yet!

   

   I was on my way falling down but this was the only pic I could find of my first and last attempt at my liberty… I was always a base and never a flyer in cheerleading!

4. ATHLETICS: I discovered my talents in athletics at age 11 when I joined the 100m sprint and beat everyone in my category… without training. Joined the school’s athletics team for fun and almost every year until I was 17, I won the Athlete of the Year in my category. The furthest I went in athletics was in long jump where I represented my district, Petaling Jaya.
5. SOFTBALL: As if I wasn’t already involved in so many other sports, I got dragged into playing softball in my senior year in high school simply because they were lacking of female players. Initially trained to be a pitcher but my team lacked a catcher and, well, guess who was the only one who could actually catch a ball? Ended up being a pretty-kick ass catcher and all-rounded player so came back after senior year to coach the next batch of softball players.
   

   District of Petaling Jaya Represent!! We got a medal for being 5th place, wheeee. Wait, what? Haha.

6. HANDBALL/BASKETBALL/NETBALL: Played competitively in these sports in school and went on to represent my high school team but decided it was too violent for me… Not a fan of fingernail scratching, hair-pulling and bitchy glares, I’m afraid. Girls can be scary! Did play Handball in a little league during my University days in Vancouver though!
7. VOLLEYBALL: One of the few sports I picked up during my University years and loved it. Joined the summer league and my team won, which was awesome. Picked up Dodgeball after that and didn’t have time to join Volleyball for a second term.
   

   It really is hard to find pictures of me in my various sports… Clearly I wasn’t a picture person back then! So this is the closest to a Volleyball pic I could find :p

8. DODGEBALL: Joined a Dodgeball league in Vancouver and it was pretty much one of the only other exercises I did other than golf and my irregular gym/yoga sessions. I absolutely adore the game and let me tell you, it got super competitive, super quick. Played it for a total of 3 years and loved every minute of it! An extremely underrated sport!
   

   Due to my softball background, I started as an underhand thrower! When I got really good in dodgeball (yes, you can get really good in dodgeball :p), I can now throw both overhand and underhand pretty darn well!

   

   My first dodgeball team that recruited me: PORK! Miss them truck loads!

   

   Came back to Malaysia and played a few fun games with the Malaysian Dodgeball League!

9. BADMINTON: Lousiest Malaysian ever because I only picked up this sport 2 years ago but mainly as an exercise routine other than my regular gym and yoga sessions. Got to have variety or else keeping fit does get boring. My biggest accomplishment is playing doubles with Dato’ Lee Chong Wei… which is probably one of the most awesome things I’ve done in my life.
   

   Having the honour to play doubles in the SAME team as Dato’ Lee Chong Wei?? Best day everrrr

10. SCUBA DIVING:Got my diving license last year and I absolutely love the sport! Exploring the underwater world is surreal and it gives a sort of peace and wonderment in my mind as I glide through a whole new world or colourful life and sights.
    

    My first time swimming with a turtle… such magnificent creatures! You can’t tell here but it was ridiculously HU-GE!

11. SNOWBOARDING: Got into the sport when I moved to Vancouver (naturally) and it took some time to get the hang of it but I absolutely love it! Especially snowboarding in Whistler. Such a beautiful, gorgeous place…
    

    Gorgeous Whisler!

    

    I pose better than I board….. True story.

And of course, I’ve tried my hand in tennis, squash, surfing, cycling, roller blading/skating, ice skating, football, snooker, pool, darts, foosball… Let’s not forget–

And…

Plus, I’ve begun to pick up the martial arts, Weng Chun, as well. And not to mention….

Preeeetty much any conventional sport there is to try, I’ve tried… and more. So, you could say I’m pretty sporty even though it really does not look like it at all.

I got my Dad’s athletic genes and my mom’s ridiculously fair skin. So… as much outdoor activities as I do, I simply can’t get tanned. In some ways, I battle these ingenious genes of mine. On one hand, it’s kind of awesome that I can keep my porcelain white skin even with serious sun exposure from all the sports I love to do. On the other hand, because I look like Snow White, I give the impression that I’m this whimpy, uncoordinated girl. In conclusion, don’t judge a book by it’s cover!! I’m a walking epitome of that quote.

Now that we have the sporting experience out of the way, suffice to say, my background in sports ought to explain the sporting knowledge. So yes, basically all that mumbo jumbo that you just went through was simply to explain that; as a sports TV Host, I actually do know what I’m talking about.

After all, I love watching sports especially golf, tennis, volleyball, badminton, and hockey. Those are definitely my top 5 sports I love to watch.

Now that you know a little more about me, I hope you feel more assured as to how and why I managed to be a part of the Fox Sports Asia’s team of TV Hosts.

So I’ve gotten my first home run… but who is to say I haven’t got more up my sleeves? Stay tuned.