In the post-match frenzy of winning an Asian Games gold medal and creating Olympic squash history, Sivasangari Subramaniam took a few seconds to reflect on life's constantly undulating fortunes.
At the previous edition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in October 2023, the graceful Malaysian had achieved the seemingly impossible.
She'd been involved in an horrendous car crash in Kuala Lumpur 15 months previously which left her with a fractured neck. A scar remains across her forehead to this day.
Doctors questioned whether she would ever walk again, let alone compete on the professional squash tour.
But she returned tentatively to the game in early 2023 and crowned her remarkable comeback with a stunning five-game victory over Sin Yuk Chan to clinch her first Asian Games singles gold medal, and a gold in the team event too.
There was, therefore, an unmistakable sense of poignancy in Aichi-Nagoya after Subramaniam successfully defended her Asian Games single title (without dropping a game this time) and, in doing so, created history as the first female player to secure qualification for squash's Olympic debut at LA28.
"I definitely went through a tough journey," she said. "The car crash was like four years ago, and the Asian Games [in 2023] was a huge comeback.
"But I think everything happens for a reason I believe there's always highs and lows. My lows were pretty low, but I'm glad I managed to bounce back.
"Life is full of struggles, so I'm just trying not to overthink too much about life, try to live life a bit more, not put too much pressure on myself and enjoy my squash as much as I can."
Securing the first place in the 16-player Olympic draw for LA28 will certainly release the pressure valve. With the next Olympic continental qualification event not taking place until next June (the European Games), the world No.5 can perhaps enjoy a certain sense of freedom whilst the rest of the tour grinds out crucial qualification points.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old vowed to work harder than ever, supported by her coach, the great Gregory Gaultier, at his training base in Prague.
"Obviously by winning this, I qualified to the Olympics which is huge. It's a dream come true already, but I want to work harder.
"There are a lot more tournaments coming up. It's only the beginning of the season. I will try to improve my ranking by end of the season to be top three in the world, then eventually go to no.1 and compete at the Olympic Games."
Subramaniam's defeated Asian Games final opponent, Anahat Singh, may have missed out on the early opportunity for Olympic qualification, but the Indian teenage sensation stands a very good chance of qualifying via her ranking come the cut-off date 22 May 2028.
Singh has deferred a place at Harvard in order to focus on qualifying for LA28. Provided she maintains her trajectory (she is currently at an all-time high of 17th) she should secure one of the minimum eight slots allocated via the PSA world rankings on the cut-off date 22 May 2028.
Subramaniam paid tribute to the Delhi-born world junior champion, who conquered second seed and Japanese home favourite Satomi Watanabe in a titanic five-game semi-final at the Asian Games.
"She had a big win yesterday and is a very tricky and dangerous opponent," said Subramaniam. "I did well today to just fight for every point, stay focused, stay composed, as there's a lot of pressure. I tried to put that away, and I did well to manage my emotions."
Subramaniam will now get the chance to elevate her national hero status to even greater heights by ending an extraordinary hoodoo.
Surprisingly, Malaysia has never won an Olympic gold medal, earning only eight silvers and seven bronzes since first entering the Games in 1956.
In a bid to end this drought, the Malaysian National Sports Council launched the 'Road To Gold' funding programme, which Subramaniam, compatriot Eian Yow Ng (who won the men's Asian Games singles gold medal) and other leading Malaysian athletes have benefited from.
"Being in the Road To Gold programme has been a very, very good support," she reflected. "It's great to see the Malaysian government actually believing that some of the athletes could potentially be the first gold medallists in the Olympics."
With her ticket to LA now booked, Subramaniam will spend the next 21 months focusing fully on creating her next chapter of Olympic history.
