All About London Olympics and Paralympics 2012

[Daddy D]

Well... Last checked Robin van Persie is still a Dutch... Ryan Giggs is still a Wales... The list goes on... Maybe that's why England will never win the World Cup?


And they didn't have the decency to give Feng TW's mum SG citizenship?
And expects Feng TW to be a proud SGrean?
And expects SGreans to cheer on this false sense of success?

[corneyAmber]

Daddy D, can you point me to where I can read that FTW’s mum not given citizenship? Thanks!

[Way2GO]

usa-sing-1:

Daddy

From today's article...
I applaud and cheer for Feng TW on her achievements and her sacrifices... But makes me more ashamed of Singapore sports... Buying instant success... Modern day slavery? :?

It's pretty routine for countries to import talent from elsewhere when competing on the world stage, and at professional level within a specific country or region...English Premier League Football is a classic example...as are most of the other European leagues. Sports can be a significant money-making enterprise, if correctly managed, like any other business.

When Svetlana Podobedova won d gold in 75kg weightlifting in London 2012,
u can see n almost feel her pride representing her new country as repeatedly points to d flag of her new country in her moment of triumph. She even mouthed or sang her new country's national anthem at d victory ceremony.

If SG can take anything fr FTW’s achievements as an athlete, it is her sheer grit n perseverance in overcoming obstacles n her ‘under-privileged’ background to succeed.

SG has a poor record in retaining imported athletes when their playing days r over. There r examples in athletics, badminton, soccer, table-tennis. Dis is probably d reason dat riles true blue SGreans who carry d five starrred red n white proudly.
These sportmen r here only coz they can’t make it in their country of birth, d money n opportunities in international competitions which they couldn’t hv otherwise. Dis is similar to mercenaries who join a country’s battles only for d money, not to fight for d cause.
Out of three first team players In d SG table-tennis women’s team, one is married to a Beijing native n has a kid in China; another is married to a Chinese player who is now a German citizen. Wat r d chances these two will remain in SG after their playing days r over? d day dat FTW hitch up with a local guy, bears children to boost up d population n becomes a true blue Sgrean will be d day when she is closer to being fully accepted as one with us.

[usa-sing-1]

Daddy

Well... Last checked Robin van Persie is still a Dutch... Ryan Giggs is still a Wales... The list goes on... Maybe that's why England will never win the World Cup?


And they didn't have the decency to give Feng TW's mum SG citizenship?
And expects Feng TW to be a proud SGrean?
And expects SGreans to cheer on this false sense of success?

I do see your point about a seemingly \"false sense of success\" ... if Feng Tianwei did not train here or reside here until recently (I don't know her history that well). I do also think that if the government here is serious about promoting a culture of home-grown world-class athleticism (and arts for that matter), then some serious attention needs to be paid to training programs, subsidies for athletes, or whatever gets the intended results. Realistically speaking, I think it will take a decade or two before regional Asian/SEA success is translated into world venues such as the Olympic games. But it can be done. Look at countries like Norway, Denmark and New Zealand, which are close to Singapore's population =/- 500,000 or so, or Croatia and Slovenia (much smaller) -- all of which consistently produce multiple medals at the Olympics.

[Way2GO]

Daddy

Well... Last checked Robin van Persie is still a Dutch... Ryan Giggs is still a Wales... The list goes on... Maybe that's why England will never win the World Cup?

As usa-sing-1 points out, d EPL is full of footballers fr various countries playing in d league. But dat comparison is not valid when applied to representing a country in d Olympics n similar Games.

Ryan Giggs is a very good example of an outstanding player who has was offered d opportunity to join a stronger team (England) but rejected it to remain to represent d country of his mother's nationality (Wales).
Wat a shining example of national pride!

d EPL is also a gud example of a league dat brings in excellent foreign players to raise its profile n improve its entertaining value to bring in d big bucks,
but till now, it does very little to improve d playing standards of English youth trying to break into d league.

[Way2GO]

usa-sing-1:

Daddy

Well... Last checked Robin van Persie is still a Dutch... Ryan Giggs is still a Wales... The list goes on... Maybe that's why England will never win the World Cup?


And they didn't have the decency to give Feng TW's mum SG citizenship?
And expects Feng TW to be a proud SGrean?
And expects SGreans to cheer on this false sense of success?

I do see your point about a seemingly \"false sense of success\" ... if Feng Tianwei did not train here or reside here until recently (I don't know her history that well). I do also think that if the government here is serious about promoting a culture of home-grown world-class athleticism (and arts for that matter), then some serious attention needs to be paid to training programs, subsidies for athletes, or whatever gets the intended results. Realistically speaking, I think it will take a decade or two before regional Asian/SEA success is translated into world venues such as the Olympic games. But it can be done. Look at countries like Norway, Denmark and New Zealand, which are close to Singapore's population =/- 500,000 or so, or Croatia and Slovenia (much smaller) -- all of which consistently produce multiple medals at the Olympics.

d missing ingredient here is one can't make a decent living out of being a professional athlete.
One can in d US n d other countries u mentioned.
How many parents in their right mind wld ask their kids to devote whole-heartedly to their chosen sport, knowing full well d kids will hv to sacrifice some of their time in educational pursuit in their formative years in a society driven by meritocracy in paper qualifications when there is no guarantee of making a decent living out of it?

[Way2GO]

usa-sing-1:

As for diving, actually yes...here is the US record in diving medals over the years...

47 gold
40 silver
41 bronze

Dat's an impressive record.
Must be a long time ago,
before d Chinese onslaught! :razz:

[Daddy D]

ksi:

Daddy D, can you point me to where I can read that FTW's mum not given citizenship? Thanks!

[quote]Of the 12 months in a year, 10 were spent outside of Singapore competing. There was even less time to visit her mother in Harbin, or to indulge herself.[/quote]From the same article... Or I could be wrong?
Or her mum prefers to stay in Harbin?

[usa-sing-1]

Way2GO:

usa-sing-1:

As for diving, actually yes...here is the US record in diving medals over the years...

47 gold
40 silver
41 bronze

Dat's an impressive record.
Must be a long time ago,
before d Chinese onslaught! :razz:

1 silver and 2 bronzes in London but the golds were generally from the late Soviet era ... before Fu Mingxia.

[Daddy D]

Way2GO:

d missing ingredient here is one can't make a decent living out of being a professional athlete.
One can in d US n d other countries u mentioned.
How many parents in their right mind wld ask their kids to devote whole-heartedly to their chosen sport, knowing full well d kids will hv to sacrifice some of their time in educational pursuit in their formative years in a society driven by meritocracy in paper qualifications when there is no guarantee of making a decent living out of it?

I agree... Which SG parent would put their kids through the training regime that Feng TW is going through?
And they conveniently says SG kids can't make it in international sports competitions thus the foreign imports...