Singapore Wins Table Tennis Championship- Is there any Glory? [Yuan Qi-102830Y]

Cheers and roars were resonating through halls of the Olympic indoor Arena in Moscow, when Singapore got to win its first ever Gold Medal in the history of Table Tennis World Team Championship – a competition that dates back to 1924.

This is a stark contrast to the lukewarm reception that the winning team is receiving back at home. Singaporeans questioned if glory really does exist in the first place when the winning players are not even locally borned nationals. The championship team consisted of all imported talents from China and many felt that in the final match, they were looking at a game of team China versus team China.

Does Singapore really lack Sports talents? The answer is No. We do have sports talents too like in any other country. So what is the root of the problem? It simply boils down to the fact that we are living in a very materialistic society that only acknowledges and recognizes certificates and status.

How many Singaporean parents would want to sacrifice their children’s future in exchange for a few years bonds with the Sports council? No one can guarantee that they can get a chance to represent Singapore despite the many hours of vigorous training. Furthermore, even if they get to represent Singapore but are not able to win any medals, ultimately their contract with the Sports council would be terminated. The amount which they receive during their bond years would never be enough to compensate for the loss years that they could have spent developing their career. It is a sad but harsh reality.

This is the main reason why Singapore has to resort to scouting for foreign talents as there is simply a lack of local athletes who are willing to embrace the uncertainties that they will be facing face throughout their sports career.

This leads us to the second issue - why aren’t everybody basking in joy since our national team has brought back the gold medal for us? The national players who represented us have all given up on their China citizenship and have made Singapore their home. They have fought for us and they have won. Why aren’t everybody cheering for them?

What kind of society are we like? Do we want to be seen as a society that is full of criticisms and self-irony - one that had jeered at its own national football team in a local match versus Liverpool? Do we want to be seen as one that is narrow minded and discriminating towards new citizens who have been living a hardworking and honest life? Or do we want to be seen as a warm and gracious society which welcomes its new citizens with an open heart and embrace them as one family?

As a nation we should reflect on ourselves. If we were to accept the newly converted Singaporeans as one of us, we should have been cheering and feeling elated for them as they clinched the Championship for Singapore.

From my point of view, Singapore deserves all the glory in winning the table tennis gold medal. We have done a marvelous job in bringing in the unpolished players and refining them into world class champions. Shouldn’t we at least feel proud and give ourselves a clap?