Swimmer-turned-golfer Ashley Lau tees up for first Olympics

Free Malaysia Today

Lau, 24, is the only female Malaysian golfer competing at the 2024 Paris Games on July 26.   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2024/07/26/swimmer-turned-golfer-ashley-lau-tees-up-for-first-olympics/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #AshleyLau #Olympics #MalaysiaGolfer

Transcript

00:00I just plan to go out there and have fun and wear the Malaysian flag proudly on my chest

00:08and yeah, that's the target.

00:12At 24 years old, Ashley Lau is ready to make her mark as the only female Malaysian golfer

00:16competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

00:19But her journey to the Olympics has been somewhat unexpected.

00:23Lau was initially a competitive swimmer as a child before she switched to golf after

00:27her swim coach returned to China.

00:29The Bintulu native then picked up her first golf club at the age of nine, thanks to her

00:34father's encouragement.

00:36My dad just thought, you know, why don't you come try golf and see where it takes you.

00:40So yeah, I picked it up and then I think a couple members of the club came up to my dad

00:47and said, oh, your daughter has potential in this game.

00:50So that's when he started taking me to a different coach.

00:55While Lau initially aimed for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, her dreams materialised sooner

01:00than expected when she qualified for the Paris Olympics, following her first professional

01:04win at the Victorian Open in Australia this year.

01:07Yeah, they reached out to me and asked how I felt about being in the Olympic rankings.

01:13I'm like, huh?

01:14Like, what?

01:15So I was very, very surprised when, but that's how I knew I was in the radar.

01:21I just feel like I'm an underdog in this race and yeah, no pressure.

01:27I mean, obviously there's a lot of pressure, but give it my all and see what happens.

01:33Lau will be the third female golfer from Malaysia to compete in the Olympics, following in the

01:37footsteps of Kelly Tan and Michelle Koh.

01:41Pursuing a career in the sport has naturally demanded immense discipline from Lau, forcing

01:45her to sacrifice typical college experiences and manage the financial strains of the sport.

01:52Despite the challenges, the Sarawakian remains focused on her goals and is optimistic about

01:56the future.

01:57Yeah, it was pretty hard, so I would say I'm living paycheck to paycheck, but yeah, I'm

02:06doing what I love and not a lot of people can say that, you know, if a sponsor does

02:11come up and say, hey, we want to sponsor you, that'd be great.

02:17Just because I want to focus on myself and playing good golf right now, and I'm all about

02:22letting the scores do the talking, so.

02:31Lau will tee off at the Paris Olympics on August 7th, and we wish her all the best.

02:36Sam Wichua, FMT News.

Category

Transcript

Recommended