Joseph Schooling Does Singapore Proud!
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I suspect the key reason why local talents have such a hard time getting support from the government is simply the ingrained belief that locals do not match up to foreign talents in terms of potential medal winners on the international stage. If you only have $100, who would you bet on? The dark horse or the pundits’ favourite?
Such a belief stems from the perception that Singapore simply does not have the capacity to grow world class athletes organically, because the socio-economic conditions cannot support the livelihood of a large pool of such talents, who may or may not win medals for us. So as usual, the powers-that-be went for the low hanging fruit. If we can’t grow talent, then we buy talent. We solve the problem as any commercial company would. Short circuit the process. Parachute in the elites. It started with the national footballers, and then seeped into most of the other mainstream sports over the decades.
While the policy may be a good idea to jump start a sport by bringing in professionals to up the ante for local sports people, I think the policy actually corrupts the meaning of sports. There is a distinct difference to a nation when medals are won by hired guns, or by sons of the nation. It is telling us that to excel in a sport, we must always rely on foreigners. It ignores the fact that it is passion that drives the quest for excellence, and natural born talent is only a lubricant in the process. And who is to say that Singaporeans lack the passion to become world class athletes of their own right?
Schooling has not only won a medal. He has destroyed the myth of 我国酱不够辣, proving that all it takes is a little more passion and self confidence than his competitors to win world class competitions. This is a wake up call to us all, and I hope it will start a renaissance where young local talents can begin believing in their own abilities to compete with the best in the world. -
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ChiefKiasu:
Must take what I said about badminton back.
I suspect the key reason why local talents have such a hard time getting support from the government is simply the ingrained belief that locals do not match up to foreign talents in terms of potential medal winners on the international stage. If you only have $100, who would you bet on? The dark horse or the pundits' favourite?floppy:
In badminton, consider the various Indonesia born players vs Derek Wong
http://theindependent.sg/badminton-stops-taking-foreign-talents-what-about-table-tennis/
“Yes, winning medals is important and if our goal is to win medals at all costs, then maybe we will consider doing something very different,” said Mr Lee Yi Shyan (former Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development, and former President of SBA). “But we want to take the more difficult route, the more resource-, labour-intensive route of creating capability within our system.” -
floppy:
Must take what I said about badminton back.
I suspect the key reason why local talents have such a hard time getting support from the government is simply the ingrained belief that locals do not match up to foreign talents in terms of potential medal winners on the international stage. If you only have $100, who would you bet on? The dark horse or the pundits' favourite?ChiefKiasu:
[quote=\"floppy\"]
In badminton, consider the various Indonesia born players vs Derek Wong
http://theindependent.sg/badminton-stops-taking-foreign-talents-what-about-table-tennis/
“Yes, winning medals is important and if our goal is to win medals at all costs, then maybe we will consider doing something very different,” said Mr Lee Yi Shyan (former Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development, and former President of SBA). “But we want to take the more difficult route, the more resource-, labour-
intensive route of creating capability within our system.”[/quote] :goodpost:
Thanks floppy for sharing this article. I was pleasantly surprised and yet puzzled when I heard Liang spoke in English in an interview previously. Now after reading the article, I understood her background better. Yes, the move by SBA is commendable and I am in favour of it. It is better to experience a \"drought\" of any medals for the particular sport than to earn them in a short cut manner through foreign imports of talents. But now that Mr Lee Yi Shyan had stepped down, let's hope the association will continue to embrace the new directions.
However on a different note, I am always very proud and supportive of Duric, the ex- footballer. He continues to give back to this adopted country in so many ways. He earns my respect. :salute:
The same cannot be said about Li Jia Wei though. Looks like she is not coming back after going back to Beijing since her marriage. I recalled she said she plans to send her son back for education here, not sure if this will ever happen. :roll: -
That, which can be solved by money is NEVER a real issue. The sports people are clear on this.
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But to be fair to her, he husband is based in China so I guess she should be there with him. It’s not as if she retired as a single and went back to China to build a career. Even Singaporean women follow their husbands all over the world wherever their work take them.
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Funz:
But to be fair to her, he husband is based in China so I guess she should be there with him. It's not as if she retired as a single and went back to China to build a career. Even Singaporean women follow their husbands all over the world wherever their work take them.
Agree. -
True Funz, no doubt about it. Li just could not speak English after so many years here. I guess she feels more at home in Beijing somehow. Just my humble opinion.
If Feng Tian Wei marries another compatriot and relocate back to China, than it is bye bye to another foreign talent. Of course I sincerely hope not. I like her better somehow. She looks more sincere.
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