Now 61, she’s at the Best Archery Centre in Glo Damansara for a second chance.
“I never thought I’d find myself in an archery hall,” Kwan, twice sportswoman of the year said. “But maybe this is where I can start again. “The medals are memories. This is about surviving and finding a place to belong.”
To understand this second chance, you have to return to her first ascent.
Kwan’s rise was swift. She picked up bowling as a hobby in 1984 at Klang Bowl. A year later, the Klang Methodist Girls’ School alumna was a national champion.
Her high swing made her one of the world’s best and by 1991, she won silver at the FIQ world championships in Singapore. She closed that year with SEA Games gold in Manila.
Two years later came another high — silver at the World Games in the Netherlands, behind England’s Pauline Smith. At the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore, she added three gold medals.
“My youth and my life were given to making the country proud,” said Kwan, who was also a three-time Selangor sportswoman of the year.
After the cheers
Glory faded, years of scraping by.
Kwan divorced in 2010. Her children built their own lives and she was left largely alone, renting a small room.
She worked at a lottery outlet, earning RM80 a day writing numbers for customers.
“It feels like I’ve lived two different lives,” she said. “One with medals, cameras, and cheers. And another where I’m just trying to get through each day.”
“But this is reality. I don’t want pity. I just want a chance to be useful again,” she added.
A way back through archery
That chance came from Jeffrey Kok.
Kok runs Best Archery Centre, which is known as a training ground for young archers.
Lisa Kwan tries her hand at archery as coach Jeffrey Kok guides her — a new chapter after decades in bowling.
But it has also become a place where past champions can find dignity again.
“Every athlete deserves a second chance,” Kok said. “At my centre, it’s not just about archery. It’s about dignity, about reminding them they still matter.”
Kwan is his latest arrival. But she is not the first.
In 2023, Kok took in former squash No 1, Kenneth Low.
Low had fallen hard. He worked as a cleaner in condominiums, mopping floors and wiping mirrors. Then came multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system.
A revitalised Lisa Kwan with Jeffrey Kok (left) and Noorul Ariffin at Best Archery Centre — the two men who opened the door to her new start, giving her purpose and dignity after years of struggle.
Kok, former national athletes welfare foundation (Yakeb) chairman Noorul Ariffin and FMT helped launch a fundraiser.
The money gave Low treatment and hope, and he is now recovering, grateful for a second chance.
“People like Lisa and Kenneth show us what happens when we celebrate athletes one day and forget them the next,” Kok said.
In her 20s, Lisa Kwan’s high swing made her one of the best in the world. (Lisa Kwan pic)
“They were champions once. They still are in spirit. I just give them a place to stand again.”
Though no longer with Yakeb, Noorul still gets calls from athletes in distress.
“These athletes gave their best years to the country,” Noorul said. “The least we can do is give them dignity when their playing days are over.”
He added: “Jeffrey is doing what institutions should be doing. If more people had his heart, no athlete would feel abandoned.”
Lisa’s new beginning
At Kok’s archery centre, Kwan will guide juniors, share her experience, and help with daily tasks.
“When coach Jeffrey called, I felt seen again,” she said. “For years I thought the country had forgotten me. I just needed a proper job.”
“Now I want to help young archers become better athletes and better people.”
Part of the generation that carried the nation’s pride on the world stage Shirley Chow, Karen Lian and Lisa Kwan, and coach Sid Allen .
Lisa admitted she had been without a “proper job” for two years, “mostly because of my age.”
Kok dismissed that. “Age doesn’t matter. What matters is drive and ambition.”
He noted his club secretary is 70. “She runs the club with more energy than most.”
When asked if helping Kwan was charity, Kok shook his head. “If anything, I’m the one receiving. Athletes like Lisa gave so much. They still have plenty to offer.”
Kwan knows the new role won’t erase her struggles overnight. But it gives her a way forward. “I just want a decent life and dignity.”
Her story raises a wider issue. Malaysia spends millions chasing Olympic dreams, yet many retired athletes are left with no safety net.
Some fade into illness. Others into obscurity. Few find help.
“Malaysia loves its athletes when they win,” Kok said. “But what about when the lights go off?”
Finding balance again
Back in the archery hall, Kwan steadies an arrow. Her hands move carefully, as if learning a new rhythm.
“Bowling gave me pride,” she said. “Life after sport took that away. Maybe here, I can rebuild a little of it.”
Kok watches. His voice is calm.
“People think archery is just about hitting the bullseye. For me, it’s also about balance, about giving people direction when life knocks them off target.”
For Lisa, balance is a beginning. After years in the shadows, she has found her way back.
