What is your definition of 'Buy Medal'? If Singapore can buy medals so easily, we would have a truckloads of medals from London Olympics already since most of you have been echoing that our million dollar ministers are so rich. Do we need to wait 52 years?
Our London Olympic 2012 Bronze medal is not bought, instead it is 'EARNED' by Feng Tianwei. Feng left China in 2005 to play in the Japanese professional league. She was talent spotted by Liu Guodong, then a coach with the Singapore Table Tennis Association, in 2006. In March 2007 she was invited to train in Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. She became a Singapore citizen in January 2008. That period her world ranking level is 73rd at the age of 22. STTA groomed & trained her well the past few years & now she won the bronze medal for us, ending the 52 years Olympic jinx wait. Her ranking is now at 8th at age of 26 yrs old. Hope some people can do some serious research. I have provided two links below.
Sources: Wikipedia and ITTF World Ranking (click Women)
For the controversy on 'import talent' & 'home grown' talent, one netizen who read from some NOT-Up-To-Date blog online has asked Ms. Lee Bee Wah, MP and President of STTA. She has replied below:-
"Lee Bee Wah to Jason Lee: Certainly we have not given up.....otherwise, why did we start the PCF table tennis program in 2009 for 6-year old kids? Why did STTA fought so hard for Isabelle and Xuejie to represent Singapore in SEA Games? Why did STTA introduce Crocodile Challenge Cup just for Singaporeans?"
Source: Here (Lee Bee Wah FB Page) and Here (Yahoo news, Nov 17, 2011 title: Results Speaks For Themselves: Lee Bee Wah)
Extracted from Yahoo: "Speaking to reporters in Jakarta after a five gold, four silver medal sweep in the SEA Games table tennis competition on Wednesday night, a triumphant STTA president Lee Bee Wah was unable to hide her delight at the success of the Singapore paddlers, in particular highlighting young homegrown players Isabelle Li and Pang Xue Jie, whom she fought hard to keep in her initial SEA Games lineup."
Now view the photos below & see if you can accept these kind of behavior online.
(Photo below courtesy of EDMW loves Singapore: This photo has been floating around on the internet. We can confirm that it is a Photoshopped job. Just took at the edges of the two highlighted boxes which indicate the players' nationality. Whoever Photoshopped this is bent on stirring anger and from untruths and trying not hard enough)
(Photo below showing the 'tricky' online polls questions)
Comments from readers about these polls above:
Sg Watcher: "The question is already suggestive and wrong in the first place - highlighting the place of birth rather than the country the sportswoman represent belies the intent. What is there to answer?"
Troy Parry: "This is like going to a Christian church and asking "which religion do you believe in" (obviously most or all will say Christian). Of course all the haters are going to say Poland, because TR is all about hatred :)"
Leonie Tan: "must have been the Polish people voting on TR :)"
Andre Tan: "Good ole fashioned fear driven sentiments, fanned by a warped political agenda methinks. Democratic process consuming itself with free speech ... like watching a snake try to eat its own tail ..."
To put to the end of my blog, I would like to highlight the latest article from SPH Mr Terrence Voon, Sports Correspondent In London. Read the part on Ms. Feng Tianwei, imagine the process she has to go through. This article will put those who did cyber bullying on her to shame!
The grit and grind behind that bronze:- Perfectionist Feng Tianwei is driven by a crushing work ethic (Aug 05, 2012).
By Terrence Voon Sports Correspondent In London
In table tennis, they call her a woman who plays like a man.
In private, Feng Tianwei is a girl, a child-like soul who loves pop music, fast cars, make-up and an extra helping of chocolate and chilli crab. She is also a perfectionist, a workaholic with a bat, an athlete powered by tragedy, rejection and the fear of failure.
Before her Olympic bronze- medal match against Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa last Wednesday, she asked her coaches: "What happens if I lose? Will my country blame me?"
Loy Soo Han, Singapore's table tennis technical chief, told her to perish the thought.
"Tianwei has the weight of the world on her shoulders," he said. "It's our job to keep her focused and calm."
It was hard to tell, from the way she demolished Ishikawa and Singapore's 52-year individual Olympic medal jinx, that Feng was jittery. Her fragile state of mind was such that officials and teammates took care not to talk about the medal drought, or the fact that Singapore's last three Olympic bronze medal play-offs had ended in disappointment.
To understand how Feng thinks, one needs to understand where she came from.
Home was Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province in north-east China. Known for its long, icy winters, this was where Feng, 25, learnt her trade as a young girl, sparring daily against bigger and stronger boys in a gym minutes away from home. This was also where she first honed her looping forehand smash, a powerful killing stroke that has been described as "masculine" by those who have coached her.
"Her technique is very advanced... comparable to the top players from China," said Loy.
The irony is that she was never quite good enough - for China.
In 2003, a year after winning China's national youth title, she was called up for the national squad. Two years of brutal training followed, during which Feng was constantly overlooked for major competitions because she was deemed to be mentally weak.
She knew her chances of breaking into the Chinese 'A' team were slim, and left for Japan in 2005 to make a living in their professional league.
By this point, she had already lost her father.
Mr Feng Qingzhi, a granary worker, died of multiple sclerosis in 2002, weeks before his only child was due to try out for the Chinese national team. Feng aced the try-outs. But it took years to cope with her father's death.
Mr Feng, along with his wife Liu Chunping, a department store worker, had saved and struggled for years to pay for their child's table tennis lessons.
Feng said in a 2010 interview: "I feel when I get the results, he will be able to feel it from where he is, because he's done so much for me."
Another life-changing moment came in 2006, when Singapore officials - then-national head coach Liu Guodong and former table tennis chief Choo Wee Khiang - saw her in action in Japan. Impressed by her skill and potential, they made her an offer: Come to Singapore, where we will train you, house you and give you a chance to play at the Olympics.
Feng agreed, and was given citizenship a year later - just in time to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, alongside Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu.
At the Beijing Games, her performances led the team to a silver, the Republic's first medal since 1960.
Feng built on that success, rising to No. 2 in the world standings in 2010, the year she led Singapore to a sensational World Team Championships triumph over China.
She was at the peak of her powers, but it came at a cost.
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.
"She's no different from other women," said deputy women's head coach Jing Junhong, who described her charge as "guileless" and "adorable".
"She wants to be pretty, she wants to wear make-up, she wants to relax. She's a child-like woman who loves to laugh and have fun. But because of her schedule, she has no time to do all these things."
Listening to Mandarin pop songs is Feng's escape from the stress of competition, and watching Formula One races on television is her idea of relaxing.
By all accounts, Feng - who guards her personal life fiercely - is single. Her crushing work ethic might have something to do this.
"She's always the last to leave the training hall," said Loy. "Even at night, when she is supposed to rest, she will sometimes find a sparring partner just so she can train more."
No one is harder on Feng than herself. In her mind, she is still flawed. She turns 26 this month, and she knows her place on the top rungs of world table tennis will slip with age.
"She seeks perfection in everything that she does," said Jing - Feng's maternal figure in the Singapore team. Better than anyone else, she knows how the paddler must feel. It was Jing who missed out on a bronze 12 years ago at the Sydney Games. And it is she who keeps reminding Feng - who endured a bad run of results before the Olympics - to take it easy even when she is not playing well.
"It's good to be a perfectionist in some situations, but she has to understand that no player can be perfect during a match," said Jing. "She has to learn to succeed even when conditions are imperfect."
After winning the bronze last Wednesday, Feng spent 45 minutes outside the arena posing for photographs with fans, VIPs and even a lone British soldier who was smitten by her performance.
"I want to win another medal for Singapore in the team event," she said then. "That's why I need to train even harder now."
In Feng's world, her work is never done.
In table tennis, they call her a woman who plays like a man.
In private, Feng Tianwei is a girl, a child-like soul who loves pop music, fast cars, make-up and an extra helping of chocolate and chilli crab. She is also a perfectionist, a workaholic with a bat, an athlete powered by tragedy, rejection and the fear of failure.
Before her Olympic bronze- medal match against Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa last Wednesday, she asked her coaches: "What happens if I lose? Will my country blame me?"
Loy Soo Han, Singapore's table tennis technical chief, told her to perish the thought.
"Tianwei has the weight of the world on her shoulders," he said. "It's our job to keep her focused and calm."
It was hard to tell, from the way she demolished Ishikawa and Singapore's 52-year individual Olympic medal jinx, that Feng was jittery. Her fragile state of mind was such that officials and teammates took care not to talk about the medal drought, or the fact that Singapore's last three Olympic bronze medal play-offs had ended in disappointment.
To understand how Feng thinks, one needs to understand where she came from.
Home was Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province in north-east China. Known for its long, icy winters, this was where Feng, 25, learnt her trade as a young girl, sparring daily against bigger and stronger boys in a gym minutes away from home. This was also where she first honed her looping forehand smash, a powerful killing stroke that has been described as "masculine" by those who have coached her.
"Her technique is very advanced... comparable to the top players from China," said Loy.
The irony is that she was never quite good enough - for China.
In 2003, a year after winning China's national youth title, she was called up for the national squad. Two years of brutal training followed, during which Feng was constantly overlooked for major competitions because she was deemed to be mentally weak.
She knew her chances of breaking into the Chinese 'A' team were slim, and left for Japan in 2005 to make a living in their professional league.
By this point, she had already lost her father.
Mr Feng Qingzhi, a granary worker, died of multiple sclerosis in 2002, weeks before his only child was due to try out for the Chinese national team. Feng aced the try-outs. But it took years to cope with her father's death.
Mr Feng, along with his wife Liu Chunping, a department store worker, had saved and struggled for years to pay for their child's table tennis lessons.
Feng said in a 2010 interview: "I feel when I get the results, he will be able to feel it from where he is, because he's done so much for me."
Another life-changing moment came in 2006, when Singapore officials - then-national head coach Liu Guodong and former table tennis chief Choo Wee Khiang - saw her in action in Japan. Impressed by her skill and potential, they made her an offer: Come to Singapore, where we will train you, house you and give you a chance to play at the Olympics.
Feng agreed, and was given citizenship a year later - just in time to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, alongside Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu.
At the Beijing Games, her performances led the team to a silver, the Republic's first medal since 1960.
Feng built on that success, rising to No. 2 in the world standings in 2010, the year she led Singapore to a sensational World Team Championships triumph over China.
She was at the peak of her powers, but it came at a cost.
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.
"She's no different from other women," said deputy women's head coach Jing Junhong, who described her charge as "guileless" and "adorable".
"She wants to be pretty, she wants to wear make-up, she wants to relax. She's a child-like woman who loves to laugh and have fun. But because of her schedule, she has no time to do all these things."
Listening to Mandarin pop songs is Feng's escape from the stress of competition, and watching Formula One races on television is her idea of relaxing.
By all accounts, Feng - who guards her personal life fiercely - is single. Her crushing work ethic might have something to do this.
"She's always the last to leave the training hall," said Loy. "Even at night, when she is supposed to rest, she will sometimes find a sparring partner just so she can train more."
No one is harder on Feng than herself. In her mind, she is still flawed. She turns 26 this month, and she knows her place on the top rungs of world table tennis will slip with age.
"She seeks perfection in everything that she does," said Jing - Feng's maternal figure in the Singapore team. Better than anyone else, she knows how the paddler must feel. It was Jing who missed out on a bronze 12 years ago at the Sydney Games. And it is she who keeps reminding Feng - who endured a bad run of results before the Olympics - to take it easy even when she is not playing well.
"It's good to be a perfectionist in some situations, but she has to understand that no player can be perfect during a match," said Jing. "She has to learn to succeed even when conditions are imperfect."
After winning the bronze last Wednesday, Feng spent 45 minutes outside the arena posing for photographs with fans, VIPs and even a lone British soldier who was smitten by her performance.
"I want to win another medal for Singapore in the team event," she said then. "That's why I need to train even harder now."
In Feng's world, her work is never done.
--------------------------------------------------
Little Fish note:
Dear readers, if you would like to Speak Up Against Xenophobia in Singapore to stop all the anti-foreigners nonsense that has been circulating on cyberspace, please visit & 'LIKE' my Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speak-Up-Against-Xenophobia-in-Singapore/349773545082229?ref=hl
Dear readers, if you would like to Speak Up Against Xenophobia in Singapore to stop all the anti-foreigners nonsense that has been circulating on cyberspace, please visit & 'LIKE' my Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speak-Up-Against-Xenophobia-in-Singapore/349773545082229?ref=hl
Stay tuned to ANOTHER BLOG COMING UP SOON.. on my Facebook Page!
English speaking talent is must for TOEFL Exam
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. It's unfortunate that those with a anti-establishment and anti-PAP political agenda have taken every opportunity to politicize the Olympics. My 7 year old son, enjoys the Olympics as a source of national pride, don't let the horde of anti-government agenda people destroy his enjoyment. Please, thank you for your post, be strong.
ReplyDeleteDude. Reaction of her win is mixed as best, and definitely far from being a unanimous Singaporean pride. In this aspect, we have lost already.
ReplyDeleteA national pride belongs to those who work hard for their achievement. The outcome is not important.
ReplyDeleteWill any parent adopt another kid with better academic results so that they can be proud of their achievement? I guess not if they are sane
Andrew; that hits THE nail. :)) #WhatILoveAboutSG is when the Chinese can speak Malay to the Indians can speak Malay to the Malays and everyone can understand everyone. Thats what Singapore is all about.
ReplyDeleteIn 2008, after winning the silver medal in Beijing Olympics, has it spurred more Singaporeans to the game and compete in table tennis? Isn't the purpose of importing foreign talents supposed to impart techniques to locals, inspire them to train harder? For the table tennis team, how many non-imports are there?
ReplyDeleteImporting FTs is a fast solution for medals and I must thank FTW for her efforts in training. But I guess she was also well rewarded for her efforts and she stayed on unlike the other defecting FTs.
Again, I think the anger should not be towards FTW, but rather the government for such a policy. (If you are angry)
If importing these FT in sports and work is really helping Singaporeans to be better off, then can someone please explain why after all these long years, we still cannot have a locally born Olympic or World champion? It is clear to me that we are not training the local talents to replace these foreign import in sports and in the work place.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we need a GRC system in this area to ensure that our local talent will be represented!
Xenophobia – “An unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange”
ReplyDeleteBy definition, that is what “xenophobia” means. The recent news about forum trolling and unreliable public opinions at forums by faked communities in the internet and social media raised another question on the validity and seriousness of xenophobia in Singapore.
No doubt Singaporeans are getting more vocal with the increasingly frustrations recently on some national issues such as transportation or housing, Singaporeans are still generally a peace loving society.
It is a reader’s basic understanding that many from the general public voiced against their unhappiness over and about foreigners in Singapore through the various internet social media platforms especially news discussion forums. However, given the above understanding also that such trolling and falsified opinions are deliberate mere acts by a couple of mischief perpetrators with some unknown suspicious agenda, one has to realize and rethink about the possibility that the perceived situation may not be as tricky as one thought to be.
However, what is more pressing and frightening are the motives and acts of these people behind these faked public opinions which possibly stirred up these anti-foreign sentiments deliberately, attempting to trick the general public at large that such a sentiment exist, and hope to ride along with the psychological condition of creating a situation and fear or doubts out of nothing from a non – existent situation to begin with – Making a situation real from a falsified belief that the situation existed which is untrue in the first place, or not as serious as it is.
This act of attempting to manipulate and abuse the trust of social media and its users by these perpetrators surpass the xenophobic feel, which after all is understandable from a human perspective where humans are often believed to be more comfortable with no changes or prefer not so over drastic differences with our level of comfort zones in life.
While we are certain racism has no place in any society especially ours, we must also look at the entire situation from a wider perspective and understand the many impacts it will have on our society. Saying no to xenophobia is simply saying no to the potential human sentiments which may be exploited over by the perpetrators’ manipulative whom we gave our trusts to. Xenophobia is not against ANYONE who understandably feels insecure over foreign inclusions at a given stage, but through education and understanding, it is possible to understand what we have read and learnt better.
Eradicating Xenophobic sentiments without displacing the very sources which sparked such sentiments, in this case those attempting to falsify public opinions with the intention to disrupt and sow discord within the society for any personal or political agenda, will only see a cause worth pursuing for the sake of our coming generations rendered fruitless at the end of the day.
It is important not to fall under the very traps such perpetrators set up in attempt to divide the society. Voices and rebuttals against those who voiced anti-sentiments or over xenophobic will only bring about more clones to attempt to mislead the public and tip the scale in a false light. Reporting anyone who suggest racism or attempts to fake public opinions will or those trying to stir a huge unnecessary public debate deliberately with obvious intent, on the other hand contain and control the situation and send a message out to the rest that social stability and harmony are something we will defend for it will shape the very fabric of our society for ourselves and future generations.
She was talent spotted and invited to train in Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. Just exactly what are the objectives of the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. It's to take advantage of foreign sports talent to boost our chances of achieving success at international competitions. Usually talent spotting is conducted in one's own country to spot talent available locally which has not been discovered. If it is conducted in a foreign country then the intention is to steal that talent for use in our own country. "we will train you, house you and give you a chance to play at the Olympics." If she won any medals of course it would be regarded as a medal won for Singapore. If that is not "importing success" what is?
ReplyDeleteAnother stated objective of the FST Scheme is to serve as encouragement to local sportsmen and women to emulate the imported talent so that eventually we would have homegrown medal winners. How successful has this been? After more than 10 years under the FSTS, our homegrown table tennis players are not even allowed to represent Singapore at the SEA Games, whereas other sports like swimming and sailing which do not embrace the FSTS are able to send homegrown participants to the Olympics. Can you imagine how discouraging this is to the local table tennis players? The FSTS was created on the assumption that it is highly unlikely that Singapore will ever be able to produce world-class athletes from the local population and the only way we are ever going to win any Olympic medals is to import foreign sports people. That is the sad and demoralizing state of affairs we are now in.
That's why I encourage people to do more research. Some facts are incorrect my dear SG fellows!
ReplyDeleteIt's commendable that Lee Bee Wah is doing so much to promote local talent but question based on this "... in particular highlighting young homegrown players Isabelle Li and Pang Xue Jie, whom she fought hard to keep in her initial SEA Games lineup."
ReplyDeleteWhy does she have to FIGHT just to keep local players on her SEA Games lineup? Kinda indicates that whatever powers she's reporting to still values MEDALS over letting local sports people can experience and exposure??
My guess: Certain criteria has to be met for professional level...
DeleteBetter still do check in on Ms. Lee Bee Wah's Facebook & pose your questions, she is happy to share with you when she is online.
She is currently in London though. Her Facebook below
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Bee-Wah/147450805269412
Xenophobia is unhealthy and brings about negativity to somewhat which is often finger pointing and unfounded accusations, going over the conducts of openly criticising even a minister.
ReplyDeleteToday 7 August 2012
Straits Times Forum
http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/london/story/focus-not-whether-sportsmen-are-local-borns-how-they-contribute
Dante wrote:
My question to this idiotic Minister is this:
what has the government done to help our local sportsmen?
You see, for foreign players, the moment they win some medals, they are rewarded.
And the moment they are rewarded, they are able to send the money back to their hometown.
In view that most of our foreign players come from developing countries, it is almost certain that overtime, with the money they sent over and saved, they are able to buy one, two or even three apartments, given our luxurious currency exchange rate.
At the end of their career here, they can simply pat their buttocks, bid farewell and fly back home, for whatever reason they can come up with, and enjoy their post-retirement lives with all the savings and properties they have accumulated.
(Zhang Xueling was one classic example: she cited wanting to be 'close to her family', and thus she left Singapore in 2007. Even our Channelnewsasia reported as "Singapore being saddened by Zhang's departure".)
For OUR local sportsmen/ women...what are installed for them?
One new flat: minimum $200k. One COE: 70k - 80 k. House mortgage loan period: 20~30 years. Monthly sports allowance: $1,200 - $2000. Eat also not enough, don't say want to 'enjoy life a bit more'.
NO WONDER most of our local sports persons come from well-to-do families (think Leslie Kwok and Joscelin Yeo). It's not that they want to show off that they have the 'extra money' to pick up the sports; it is REALLY because in Singapore, you simply can't be a sports person and make a living out of it.
And of course, as usual, our useless government is ALWAYS the first in taking care of the foreign sportspersons, and then the local ones. What's new?
Sorry unable to link somehow:
DeleteFrom Straits Times forum dated 7 August 2012
Title: Focus not on whether sportsmen are local-borns but how they contribute
They have now removed the comment as above (update)
Delete