Asian English Olympics 2013 - My Experience

Asian English Olympics 2013 - My Experience

By Pravin Nair

Inspiring. That is how I describe my amazing journey that began with a hope and ended with an achievement. They always say that winning does not matter, but trust me, it does. Winning motivates people to become a better person not only for themselves, but for others as well. Winning that silver medal at the AEO has changed me in more ways than one. Acquiring it however, was no easy feat.

To begin with, I have no idea how I had actually landed myself a seat on that KLM flight to Jakarta. It was quite a surprise when I was informed that I’d be participating in the AEO, given the fact that I had delivered a terrible performance during the selection rounds. Among the chosen ones were Ashwin Vel, John Xavier and Lee.The 2 weeks before the departure was all about practice, practice and practice. I don’t recall ever putting so much effort into a competition. I knew what was at stake. The weight of expectation was slowly worrying me, and by the time Chinese New Year loomed, I felt hopeless and out-of-sorts. My confidence dropped to  an all time low when I realized just how terrible I was during a dry-run before the actual competition. “Am I really worth the money UTP is investing? Should I just pull out?”

But the pride of representing both UTP and Malaysia overwhelmed me. It was a chance to prove to everyone that I am a champion. I trained day and night, sacrificing my needs for a well deserved break. It was definitely a make-or-break situation.

Once we arrived I was eager to meet my competitors; figured it would be a good way to gauge the standard of the competition.

The first round of the competition began the following day.I had drawn number 20 previously, so I had to wait for quite some time before my name was to be called out. It was stressful to watch the others rehearsing frantically, so I resorted to a more practical approach by reading Barack Obama’s autobiography.

The breaking announcement was held at the auditorium by 6pm and expectations were very high. I felt shaky when Lee and John were called out first. After what seemed like ages, my name suddenly popped out, followed by loud cheers. Most of my close friends made it through, and the journey to fame entered a whole new chapter.

I was mentally exhausted after the second day, not only because of the heat, but also due to the increasing level of competitiveness that was beginning to grip the participants. I quickly updated everyone on Facebook, and I was glad to know that people, especially UTP-ians, were following our progress.

The challenge for the 3rd day was tough. There were to be three rounds, namely the octo finals (top 24), quarter finals (top 16), and the semi finals (top 8). It seemed like a tall order to even break past the octo finals.

The speech that I had delivered for the  octo finals was about the maltreatment of women in India. It was just the sort of topic I needed to impress the judges. And impressed them I did, for I was able to advance into the quarter finals. Sadly most of the competitors that I had befrinded were shown the exit. The competition had just gotten real.

To make it past the quarter finals, we had to come up with a humorous speech. Well, mine wasn’t a speech exactly, more like a story that would make the audience laugh at its stupidity. I was afraid that my ‘humourous’ speech would only force a smile on the crowd, and I felt even more uncomfortable when I noticed that one of the judges was giving me a stone face. So it was a huge relief when I was given a thunderous applause by the end of it.

My confidence skyrocketed to an all-time high when my name was called out for the semi-finals. Like WHOAH! I’ve made it the semis! The only thing that stood between me and the grand finals was the table-topic round, a notable weakness for most competitors.

The challenge for the semi-finals was to “Share one secret that would make the world sing in tune.” We were given only 30 seconds to prepare for a 2 minutes and 30 seconds long speech based on this phrase. I started it off with a song about peace, and ended it with a simple quote that was created on the spot; “Take a flower, pluck a petal, place it on your lips and give the flower to the person next to you. That my friend, is how peace is fostered.” My speech was ended by a round of applause and profuse appraises from the crowd. It felt great, though I couldn’t help worrying. Was it enough to get me a place in the Grand finals?

At approximately 5.30 pm, the committee called all 8 semi finalists into the waiting room for the breaking announcement. Lee’s name was called out first, and both of us cried in joy. A Malay UTP-ian in a Final. Up next was Maria Dominique (fondly known as Nicki) from the Phillipines and the third finalist was Jennifer, a pretty lass from Bandung.

So many times in life have I experienced heartbreaking results. I hate losing, especially when I know I have performed beyond my capabilities. My heart was beginning to hurt. Semi-finalist; that’s a proud achievement on my first official competition outside UTP, but I wanted more. I thought so much that I didn’t notice that the fourth name called out was my own. “Fourth finalist, Pravin Nair from Universiti Teknologi Petronas.”

I raced out of the room and shouted to Ashwin, who was waiting outside, that I had made it. My dream had finally came true. There were hugs all around, everyone screaming in joy. But most importantly, Lee and I made it through to the Finals against all odds.

I slept at around 9.30 pm and was awakened by Khairul at 12.00. The topic for the Grand Finals was sent to the four finalists by email.  My first impression of the topic was “WTF?” It read, “Diamond of pride, pebble of dignity.” It was difficult at first to interpret it. Faris, our team captain, mentioned something about black diamonds in Africa. Huzaimi, my coursemate, gave his views regarding the topic. But to me, all that mattered then was my interpretation. Instead of accepting the quote with warm hands, I attacked it by questioning the logic of saying diamonds to be of pride, and pebbles to be of dignity. Why can’t it be of the reverse? I stayed until 4 am to come up with a draft, and I knew that this was never going to be easy. Despite having taken a short rest, my mind was still hovering over the script. One part told me to go with the flow. The other part told me to reverse and do it all over again. I was not in the mood to prepare ; instead I trudged back to my room and took a long shower to drain all my fears and unnecessary thoughts.

I was ready by 6.30 am. It was the day of the Grand Final. Just before leaving the hotel, I rehearsed in front of Mr Mutallib. I stuttered many times, and I could feel my hands trembling.

The author receiving his award.

The journey to the Auditorium was nerve-wrecking. The Grand Final was held at a different venue; and we reached there at 9 am sharp, just 1 hour before the speech competition.

I was drawn number 2, with Nicki opening proceedings, Lee as the 3rd and Jennifer as the last speaker. Within 15 minutes, I was called up into the quarantine room, where I conveyed my good luck wishes to Nicki. To be frank, I was very inspired at how a final year high school girl can reach such a pinnacle without being overawed. “ I really enjoy the script. I’m just going to smile and do my best.” The hopefulness in Nicki’s eyes practically summed up our journey. Full of ambition, sometimes with anxiety but assured with optimism.

After an agonisingly long wait, I was summoned up to the stage at last.“Ladies and gentleman, please put your hands together for Pravin Nair from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS , Malaysia!” The claps. The whisper of good lucks. The stares from the judges. The pitch black audience. I have never felt so much pride before in my life. This was my moment.

I started my speech with an introduction on stereotyping woman and man, and everyone loved it. The reaction from the crowd spurred me further. Since there were no scripts at hand, I had to simply go with the flow. I committed a few mistakes here and there, and I could see the agony in some audience’s eyes.Instead of grieiving at my mistakes, I started taking control of the stage, making sure that each word I uttered was understood by all. I wanted to send a clear message out there, and as each second ticked past, I was growing by confidence. And when the red flag was raised, I concluded my speech with a simple quote of action: “STOP, THINK AND ACT.”

The applause that followed really stunned me. The judges showed positive gestures that made me feel a whole lot more comfortable. All that was left was the feedback session.

I was waiting nervously when the results were announced. It started off with a bang for UTP, as we won both the Prepared Movie and On-The-Spot Movie categories. It got better when Ashwin won two medals for his efforts (3rd placing and best prepared story). Up next was the speech category. I was more concerned about making it into the Top 3, so when Jeniffer’s name was mentioned, I had a feeling that Top 2 was mine to lose.

“The first runner-up for this year’s Asian English Olympics 2013 goes to...Mr Pravin Nair Venugopalan from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS!!!” I screamed in joy, and was congratulated by the entire team. A silver medal. A crowning achievement for a guy who didn’t even believe in CHANGE and OPPORTUNITIES.

The next few moments were just pure history. UTP emerged as the overall institutional champion, thanks to the contribution of every single participant. With two Malaysian flags proudly displayed along with the Iranian and Egyptian flags, we lifted the trophy that had so long eluded us. Finally, victory was ours, and it was for us to savour.  Such was the pride that empowered all of us. No words can describe the amazing feeling of being a champion.

The victorious UTP contingent after the prize-giving ceremony.

Today, I look back at these moments not as a mere memory, but as a piece of treasure that will keep the entire experience firmly intact. I don’t want to let go of the euphoria nor the amazing 6 days we had stayed in Jakarta. To me, that is inspiration, and it’s time for me to inspire people with my story.