Proud moment: Yap Jian Wei (left), Ng Wei Poong, Chan Kok Hong, Thiay Jun Wen and Cheng Jin Xiang posing for a photograph after their Dota 2 event.
YAP Jian Wei has earned more than US$2mil (RM9.368mil) playing in tournaments over the past nine years but there is something that money can’t buy – an Asian Games medal.
But Jian Wei, who is ranked in the top 50 in the world and turned 26 on Sunday, got a perfect birthday gift as a member of the Dota 2 bronze medal winning team on the last day of esports competition at the China Hangzhou Esports Centre yesterday.
The others in the team who beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in the bronze-medal playoff were Chan Kok Hong, Cheng Jin Xiang, Thiay Jun Wen, Tue Soon Chuan and Ng Wei Poong.
Malaysia had earlier lost 1-3 to favourites China in the semi-final on Sunday.
It is the second medal for Malaysia in esports in Hangzhou.
Malaysia lost 0-2 to China in the final of Arena of Valor event to settle for silver medal last week.
The Malaysian team also enjoyed backing from the noisy but supportive crowd at the sold-out arena.
That helped the Malaysian team swing the tie in their favour despite making some mistakes in some of the match-ups.
“Getting a bronze makes me feel proud for the team and for Malaysia,” said Jian Wei.
“In my whole career, I never expected that I would be part of such a sports event. It’s been a really great opportunity.”Winning a medal in his Asiad debut was certainly an icing on the cake.
“We almost blew it by making some mistakes against Kyrgyztan but fortunately, we had built up an early lead from the start of the game. It was intense,” he said. “This Games experience is priceless and money can’t buy it.”
