S’pore offers highest prize money for an Olympic gold medal
Not only Singapore ministers are the highest paid in the world, the prize money Singapore offers to an Olympic gold medal winner is probably also the highest at US$800,000 (S$1,000,000).
According to Reuters/BBC info, this is how much an Olympic gold medalist will get from their respective countries: (In USD)
- Singapore – $800,000
- Malaysia – $320,000
- Kazakhstan – $250,000
- Kyrgyzstan – $200,000
- Uzbekistan – $150,000
- Russia – $135,000
- Tajikistan – $63,000
- US – $25,000
- Australia – $21,000
- UK – No money, but their face on a stamp
$625,000 for table tennis Olympic medalists
A total of $625,000 was handed out to the Singapore women's table tennis team for the two bronze medals they won at the recent London 2012 Olympics.
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Singapore wins Olympic table tennis team bronze medal
LONDON, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Singapore won the bronze medal in table tennis women's team event of the London Olympic Games on Tuesday after beating South Korea 3-0.
This is the second bronze medal Singapore won in table tennis in London. Feng Tianwei won the bronze medal in women's singles six days ago.
Feng beat South Korea's Kim Kyung-Ah (11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 13-11) in the opening match. Her teammate Li Jiawei continued the winning streak, defeating South Korea's Seok Ha-Jung (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8).
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Olympics table tennis: Japan beat Singapore into women's team final
Japan
beat Singapore in three matches to reach the final of the Olympic women's
team table tennis event.
The Japanese trio of Kasumi Ishikawa, Ai Fukuhara and Sayaka Hirano saw off the Singapore side of Feng Tianwei , Yuegu Wang and Jiawei Li with ease to reach Tuesday's final.
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Natalia Partyka lost but inspires her nation; Feng Tianwei won but divides her adopted country
Miami Herald, 3 Aug 2012
Far away from the glare of TV cameras, at the ExCel table tennis hall Friday morning, was the equally compelling but lesser-known Natalia Partyka, a one-armed table tennis player from Poland.
She was born without a right hand or forearm and is competing in her second Olympics after winning gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Paralympics. She will also compete in the London Paralympics.
She reached the third round of the singles competition last week before losing to a Dutch player. On Friday, she played in the team competition against Singapore.
Poland lost the match 3-1 (2-3, 3-0, 3-0, 3-0), but Partyka won a lot of hearts in the audience. Full story
Related:
Inspirational Partyka downplays disability - Reuters UK
Meet The Incredible One-Handed Olympic Table Tennis Player From Poland - Business Insider
Singapore beat Poland in women’s team table tennis
LONDON: Singapore’s women paddlers beat Poland 3—1 on Friday in the Olympic women’s team table tennis first round to proceed to the quarter finals.
In the first match, Li Qian (POL) beat Feng Tianwei (SIN) 3—2 (11—8, 13—15, 9—11, 11—9, 11—8)
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DPM Teo believes Feng's bronze will help galvanise Singapore sports
Singapore Table Tennis Association chief Lee Bee Wah congratulating Feng for her win. PHOTO TAN YO-HINN
It was Singapore's first Olympic medal in an individual event in 52 years. But the significance of table-tennis star Feng Tianwei's bronze, which she received after a 4-0 win over Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa on Wednesday, could be huge, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
DPM Teo was among an estimated 3,000-capacity crowd at London's ExCel Arena to watch Feng sweep aside the world No 6 Japanese left-hander Kasumi Ishikawa 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 and claim the bronze to put Singapore on the medal table at the London Olympics
It was also the perfect tonic ahead of the start of the team competitions today, with Singapore facing Poland in their last-16 clash in the women's team event.
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Feng Tianwei puts Singapore on Olympic medal table
It was Singapore's first Olympic medal in an individual event in 52 years. But the significance of table-tennis star Feng Tianwei's bronze, which she received after a 4-0 win over Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa on Wednesday, could be huge, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
DPM Teo was among an estimated 3,000-capacity crowd at London's ExCel Arena to watch Feng sweep aside the world No 6 Japanese left-hander Kasumi Ishikawa 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 and claim the bronze to put Singapore on the medal table at the London Olympics
It was also the perfect tonic ahead of the start of the team competitions today, with Singapore facing Poland in their last-16 clash in the women's team event.
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Feng Tianwei puts Singapore on Olympic medal table
Singapore's agonising 52-year-wait for an individual Olympic medal ended in emphatic fashion as Feng Tianwei beat Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa to claim third place in the table tennis women's singles competition on Wednesday.
[See Feng in action here]
Buoyed by her encouraging showing in Tuesday's semi-final defeat against China's Ding Ning, Feng was the more aggressive of the two players from the get go, as she attacked her younger opponent with verve and purpose.
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Singaporeans congratulate Feng on Olympic medal win
Congratulations poured in for Singapore's Feng Tianwei, who did the country proud by winning the bronze medal Wednesday in women's singles table tennis at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
She demolished Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa 4-0 in the best-of-seven- match in 25 minutes Wednesday evening Singapore time. The scores: 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.
(See slideshow of her victory here)
The bronze is the first Olympic medal won by Singapore since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang bagged a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Games.
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Singapore applauds Feng’s Olympic medal win
Congratulations poured in for Singapore's Feng Tianwei, who did the country proud by winning the bronze medal Wednesday in women's singles table tennis at the London 2012 Olympic Games
She demolished Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa 4-0 in the best-of-seven- match in 25 minutes Wednesday evening Singapore time. The scores: 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.
The bronze is the first Olympic medal won by Singapore since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang bagged a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Games
Cheers for Singapore's Olympic victory in women's singles table tennis. (TV screenshot)
Responding to some of the negative comments, some users defended Feng and pointed out she deserved praise for her performance and hard work. For taking home the bronze, Feng will receive S$250,000 under Singapore's Multi-Million Dollar Awards Program (MAP).
"Anyway, taxpayers $ or not, china born or not.... Feng put in thousands of hours of sheer hard work to work her way to bronze. She didn't get it via some Mont Blanc pen or other gifts. For that, she deserves every penny of the award money she's receiving," said Facebook user TF Long.
In a comment, Andrew Lim asked his fellow Singaporeans to stop complaining "if you can play better than FTW. She has done us proud!"
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Table Tennis Bronze for Singapore
Responding to some of the negative comments, some users defended Feng and pointed out she deserved praise for her performance and hard work. For taking home the bronze, Feng will receive S$250,000 under Singapore's Multi-Million Dollar Awards Program (MAP).
"Anyway, taxpayers $ or not, china born or not.... Feng put in thousands of hours of sheer hard work to work her way to bronze. She didn't get it via some Mont Blanc pen or other gifts. For that, she deserves every penny of the award money she's receiving," said Facebook user TF Long.
In a comment, Andrew Lim asked his fellow Singaporeans to stop complaining "if you can play better than FTW. She has done us proud!"
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Table Tennis Bronze for Singapore
I am reading here and there (not this AsiaOne article) that Feng Tianwei isn't a true blue Singaporean. To me, this is irrelevant. She carries a Singapore passport now and let's give her a chance to become more like us even as we pick up and assimilate the better qualities those like her have brought to us.
Maybe I am poorly informed here, but my peeve is why should we invest so much resources in enterprises where we have no natural advantage?
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A bronze medal, but at what cost for Singapore?
REUTERS - (L-R) China's Ding Ning, China's Li Xiaoxia and Singapore's Feng Tianwei pose with their medals after the women's singles table tennis tournament at the ExCel venue during the London 2012
Feng's bronze medal will
earn her S$250,000 under the MAP scheme. (Reuters photo)
It’s taken six days for the Olympics to come alive for Singapore and I almost wished it hadn’t.
Because instead of uniting a nation as sports often does, Feng Tianwei’s bronze medal win has done the exact opposite
Singapore’s first individual medal in 52 years has divided the nation and re-ignited the vicious, ugly debate surrounding imported foreign talent. In fact, it’s brought it into ever-sharper focus.
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Almost 8 in 10 not proud of medal won by foreign import: Yahoo! poll
It’s taken six days for the Olympics to come alive for Singapore and I almost wished it hadn’t.
Because instead of uniting a nation as sports often does, Feng Tianwei’s bronze medal win has done the exact opposite
Singapore’s first individual medal in 52 years has divided the nation and re-ignited the vicious, ugly debate surrounding imported foreign talent. In fact, it’s brought it into ever-sharper focus.
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Almost 8 in 10 not proud of medal won by foreign import: Yahoo! poll
REUTERS
- Singapore's Feng Tianwei is presented with her bronze medal in the
medal ceremony of the women's singles table tennis tournament at the
ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 1, 2012
77 per cent of respondents who took part in a recent Yahoo! poll said they would not be proud if a foreign import wins an Olympic medal of Singapore.
On Tuesday, we asked “Would you feel proud if a foreign import wins an Olympic medal for Singapore?”, and respondents had to choose either a “yes” or “no”.
The three-day poll, which ended on Thursday, saw 77 per cent of the 17,227 respondents who took part chose “No”
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Lee Bee Wah, stop fantasizing about national ‘pride’
77 per cent of respondents who took part in a recent Yahoo! poll said they would not be proud if a foreign import wins an Olympic medal of Singapore.
On Tuesday, we asked “Would you feel proud if a foreign import wins an Olympic medal for Singapore?”, and respondents had to choose either a “yes” or “no”.
The three-day poll, which ended on Thursday, saw 77 per cent of the 17,227 respondents who took part chose “No”
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Lee Bee Wah, stop fantasizing about national ‘pride’
Some questions came to mind: how much of Lee Bee Wah’s job has been
made easy with the fat annual budget allocated to her? Just think of a
CEO who is given a generous budget to operate and one who has to
struggle with a bare budget to meet the same set of goals.
How much have Ah Huay and all her predecessors spent over the years in building up the current team? Is one Olympic bronze medal a satisfactory performance?
Could the money have been better spent on Singaporeans’ needs, instead of spending it on importing foreigners and paying them to do what they enjoyed doing?
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Sports : Home grown vs Imported Success
The pride in winning an Olympic medal does not come from the winning alone but what the win represents. A country feels proud of its medal winners because the win represents a country's ability to nurture talent in the sport and provide the support to athletes to perform at the highest levels.
Small countries, Norway (4.9M), Sweden (9.4M), Finland (5.3M) and Jamaica (2.7M), don't tell themselves they can't win but ask themselves what their own people are good at and how they can be nurtured to win - this is the "can do" spirit.
When you import sporting talent just to win, you have given up on your own people and it represents the "cannot do" spirit ...a confirmation that you don't believe in your own people and their talents.
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Importing Olympic athletes isn't going to fool anybody
"To come in late in the day with imported talent and claim they are British success stories isn't about being open to migrants. It's just cheating. Nobody watching will be fooled. If they get medals, we'll feel a little embarrassed. Whether it's swimming or anything else, let's have a sporting culture strong enough for us to know, when we win, that it's a real, homegrown achievement, not a fiddle. Otherwise, frankly, I'd rather we lost." Jackie Ashley
How much have Ah Huay and all her predecessors spent over the years in building up the current team? Is one Olympic bronze medal a satisfactory performance?
Could the money have been better spent on Singaporeans’ needs, instead of spending it on importing foreigners and paying them to do what they enjoyed doing?
read more
Sports : Home grown vs Imported Success
The pride in winning an Olympic medal does not come from the winning alone but what the win represents. A country feels proud of its medal winners because the win represents a country's ability to nurture talent in the sport and provide the support to athletes to perform at the highest levels.
Small countries, Norway (4.9M), Sweden (9.4M), Finland (5.3M) and Jamaica (2.7M), don't tell themselves they can't win but ask themselves what their own people are good at and how they can be nurtured to win - this is the "can do" spirit.
When you import sporting talent just to win, you have given up on your own people and it represents the "cannot do" spirit ...a confirmation that you don't believe in your own people and their talents.
read more
Importing Olympic athletes isn't going to fool anybody
"To come in late in the day with imported talent and claim they are British success stories isn't about being open to migrants. It's just cheating. Nobody watching will be fooled. If they get medals, we'll feel a little embarrassed. Whether it's swimming or anything else, let's have a sporting culture strong enough for us to know, when we win, that it's a real, homegrown achievement, not a fiddle. Otherwise, frankly, I'd rather we lost." Jackie Ashley
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Obsessed with the chase for medals
Eight badminton players were disqualified from the London Olympics for trying to throw their matches. Similar match-throwing practices reflected that the participating countries coaches and players have distorted the Olympic spirit of fair competition in the pursuit of medals.
It is a great honour for participating countries to win Olympic medals In addition to showing the world that they are not weak it also carries a political effect in anesthetising the people's nerves Therefore they do everything possible to get a medal.
For example Singapore relied on China-born Feng Tianwei to win its first women's individual table tennis Olympic medal in 52 years.
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Outcry over Feng Tianwei throwing flowers at cheering PRC fans after her win at London Olympics
A massive outcry has erupted in cyberspace over China-born Feng Tianwei throwing flowers at PRC fans cheering for her after her victory over Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa
Feng Tianwei won the game 4-0 in the women’s singles table tennis match to clinch the bronze on Wednesday.
Throughout the match, PRC fans waving the China flag could be seen on screen screaming their support for her. The Heilongjiang native only ‘became’ a Singaporean ‘citizen’ in 2007.
Obsessed with the chase for medals
Eight badminton players were disqualified from the London Olympics for trying to throw their matches. Similar match-throwing practices reflected that the participating countries coaches and players have distorted the Olympic spirit of fair competition in the pursuit of medals.
It is a great honour for participating countries to win Olympic medals In addition to showing the world that they are not weak it also carries a political effect in anesthetising the people's nerves Therefore they do everything possible to get a medal.
For example Singapore relied on China-born Feng Tianwei to win its first women's individual table tennis Olympic medal in 52 years.
read more
Outcry over Feng Tianwei throwing flowers at cheering PRC fans after her win at London Olympics
A massive outcry has erupted in cyberspace over China-born Feng Tianwei throwing flowers at PRC fans cheering for her after her victory over Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa
Feng Tianwei won the game 4-0 in the women’s singles table tennis match to clinch the bronze on Wednesday.
Throughout the match, PRC fans waving the China flag could be seen on screen screaming their support for her. The Heilongjiang native only ‘became’ a Singaporean ‘citizen’ in 2007.
Though she is now a ‘Singaporean’, it is pretty obvious that Feng is still a PRC at heart, judging from her reaction which left the Singaporean fans stunned
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Singapore's Wang blames the Germans for losing table tennis match
IT'S never a good idea to air one's dirty laundry in public and, in the unlikely event that the husband of Singapore table tennis player Wang Yuega happens to be reading this diary, it might be best that he look away now.
Wang lost out yesterday in London, but, rather than take responsibility for her own actions, she was certain where the blame laid. Full Story
China-born Singapore paddler Wang Yuegu accuses German umpire of discrimination after loss
Moments after her 4-1 defeat to Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa at London's ExCel Arena, Wang stunned the Singapore media when she hit out at the appointment of German Claudia Moller as the umpire for their match.
"As soon as I saw I had a German umpire, I knew I was going to lose points," said the 31-year-old, who is ranked world No 11, and who could be competing in her last Olympics.
"My husband is German, and I have a private problem with them. Someone from their team is abusing their relationship with officials and has arranged for me to have a German umpire.
"They're abusing their power and I can't respect that. Full story
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Wang Yuegu blaming umpire for being German
Damn you, Sky!
Considering how strange it is for Wang to discriminate against Germans
when she claims her spouse is German himself, I dug further and pulled
out another report stating that Wang’s husband is actually a TAIWANESE BASED in Germany. If not convinced, look no further than this Facebook pic of Wang in a wedding photo shoot.
Another discrepancy is the reason for Wang being red-carded in March;
CNA reported that Wang was tossed out of the match for giving ‘illegal advice’ or ‘coaching’ from the sidelines.
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Olympics: Singapore’s paddler Gao Ning advances, swimmer Schooling disappoints
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Gao Ning has reached the fourth round of the table tennis singles event in London Olympics.
He beat Slovenia’s Bojan Tokic 4—0 in the third round on Monday to qualify, going one stage further than he did in the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
Gao, seeded 10, came out aggressively and very quickly took the first three games in under 20 minutes, leading 11—7, 11—7, 11—5.
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S’pore swimmer in Olympics drama
(Photo courtesy of Singapore Sports Council)
Singapore's Chef-de-Mission Jessie Phua says Singapore has been “robbed” at the Olympic games.
This comes after one of Singapore’s most promising athletes, Joseph Schooling’s performance was affected after officials had told him that his gear (swim cap and goggles) was not permitted for use, reported the TODAY newspaper.
This happened just minutes before the 200-metre butterfly heat.
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Olympics: SSA to seek clarification from TYR over caps, goggles
Singapore's Chef-de-Mission Jessie Phua says Singapore has been “robbed” at the Olympic games.
This comes after one of Singapore’s most promising athletes, Joseph Schooling’s performance was affected after officials had told him that his gear (swim cap and goggles) was not permitted for use, reported the TODAY newspaper.
This happened just minutes before the 200-metre butterfly heat.
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Olympics: SSA to seek clarification from TYR over caps, goggles
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Swimming Association says it is seeking clarification from swimwear brand TYR as to why its caps and goggles were not registered for use at the Olympic Games.
This comes after rising Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling finished last in his 200m butterfly heats on Monday.
Schooling attributed his poor performance to the fact that an official told him just before the race, that his brand of goggles and cap were not approved
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China-born swimmer Tao Li blames her poor performance on ‘change of coach’
Imported’ swimming star Tao Li believes she could have had a better chance of reaching the women’s 100m butterfly final, had it not for disruptions to her training programme in the past year – due to the change of coach.
The China-born Tao Li was outclassed in the London Olympics after a dismay performance that placed her 10th place out of 16 competitors.
Speaking to journalists in London, Tao Li said:
For my standard, had I not gone through a change of coach, I could have gone up a notch.read more
Perhaps the timing (of the change) was just too short (to the Olympics). Nonetheless, I’m still happy to have been able to post these times today under such circumstances.
China-born swimmer Tao Li booted out of London Olympics 100m butterfly event but sets record
China-born Singaporean Tao Li
China-born Singaporean swimmer Tao Li was outclassed in the London Olympics after a dismay performance that placed her 10th out of 16 competitors in the 100m butterfly, with the top eight going through to the final.
As a consolation however, Tao Li slashed her own 100m Backstroke national open record of 1 minute 2.11 seconds to 1 minute 01.60 seconds in an earlier heat.
The 22-year-old swimmer was groomed from a young age in Wuhan, China by her swimming coaches parents. She came to Singapore in 2002 to study when she was 13-year-old with her mother.
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Beer Aunties in Team Singapore?
“For the record, Tao Li is 1.6m tall and it would be unchivalrous to mention the lady’s weight.”
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Quah Zheng Wen, Mylene Ong fail to qualify for semi
Quah Zheng Wen did not advance to the semi finals of the 200m backstroke (S'pore Sports Council)
Teenage swimmer Quah Zheng Wen failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke event on Wednesday.
Swimming in Heat 1, the 15-year-old, who is the younger brother of national swimmer Ting Wen, clocked a time of 2:03.45 seconds
The fastest qualifier for this event is Tyler Clary of the United States with his time of 1:56.24s.
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Olympics: S’pore women aiming to blaze a trail in London
Teenage swimmer Quah Zheng Wen failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke event on Wednesday.
Swimming in Heat 1, the 15-year-old, who is the younger brother of national swimmer Ting Wen, clocked a time of 2:03.45 seconds
The fastest qualifier for this event is Tyler Clary of the United States with his time of 1:56.24s.
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Olympics: S’pore women aiming to blaze a trail in London
SINGAPORE: Three Singaporean women, one aim: to blaze a trail for their respective sport at the London Olympics. The trio are gymnast Lim Heem Wei, canoeist Geraldine Lee and weightlifter Helena Wong.
Lim Heem Wei is the first Singaporean gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. To gear up for the big show, the 22—year—old has been spending a lot of time training in China.
She said: "We can pump in the hours, where we stay. The gym is really near, so we get a lot more training hours, and I think, most importantly, it is very focused. There are no external distractions and interference."
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Shuttlecocks, balls and bad behaviour at the Olympics
(Photo / File)
The thing about badminton is that no balls are involved.
Just shuttlecocks.
But suddenly, the sport’s governing body, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), has shown more balls in putting things instantly right than other officials in charge of football, basketball, tennis, sepak takraw or whatever act of folly that requires actual balls.
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'Most embarrassing badminton match ever'
The thing about badminton is that no balls are involved.
Just shuttlecocks.
But suddenly, the sport’s governing body, the Badminton World Federation (BWF), has shown more balls in putting things instantly right than other officials in charge of football, basketball, tennis, sepak takraw or whatever act of folly that requires actual balls.
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'Most embarrassing badminton match ever'
The Badminton World Federation has disqualified eight players from the Olympics after accusing them of "not using one's best efforts to win".
Four pairs of players - two from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia - are out of the Olympics after their matches on Tuesday.
All four pairs were accused of wanting to lose in an attempt to manipulate the draw for the knockout stage.
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Our very own Singaporean Olympics
People complain that Singaporeans are not good at sports and that we have to import our talent. I say we should compete in sports we will excel in. We should have our own #SingaporeanOlympics:
1. @mrbrown: MRT Rush Hour Squeeze
2. @mrbrown: Lunch Hour Tissue Chope Toss
3. @mrbrown: NParks Brompton Bicycle Gebiz Tender Sprint
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Almost 8 in 10 not proud of medal won by foreign import: Poll
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Almost 8 in 10 not proud of medal won by foreign import: Poll
77 per cent of respondents who took part in a recent Yahoo! poll said they would not be proud if a foreign import wins an Olympic medal of Singapore
On Tuesday, we asked “Would you feel proud if a foreign
import wins an Olympic medal for Singapore?”, and respondents had to
choose either a “yes” or “no”.
The three-day poll, which ended on Thursday, saw 77 per cent of the 17,227 respondents who took part chose “No”.
Yahoo! user Frustrated said in a comment on this story, “Nothing against her, she performed well and deserves all the recognition and applause. But no applause to the “buyer” of medals! Singapore should buy all the Olympics medallists with its huge national reserves. Or better still, set up a factory and manufacture the medals.” Full story
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Comment: The difference between local athletes and foreign imports is that the former do it for national pride, while the latter plays for the money. If we cut or take away the prize money, will these China-born Singapore paddlers like Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Lee Jiawei or Gao Ning still play for Singapore? Should Singaporeans feel proud that we have resorted to buying foreign players to put us on the medal chart?
Olympics 2012: West Questions after China’s Obsession with Gold
In Beijing, where the authorities believe only first place is worth having, more people are starting to ask if the philosophy of gold above all else costs too high a price. - bbc ”read more
What does it mean to be an Olympics medalist country?
Feng Tianwei’s bronze medal winning game set me thinking, just as the nation’s media drummed it up to be one of Singapore’s history-making event.
Feng Tianwei’s bronze medal winning game set me thinking, just as the nation’s media drummed it up to be one of Singapore’s history-making event.
What does it mean to be an Olympics medalist country?
Athletes win medals, but why do entire nations rally behind their
athletes at international games? Why do citizens feel jubilant as their
countries blazed a trail across the scoreboards and medal counts?
Why then, do 8-in-10 Singaporeans in a recent poll by Yahoo! not feel proud that Feng Tianwei won a bronze medal?
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Feng Tianwei cannot compare to Tan Howe Liang
Tan Howe Liang’s skimpy leotard. In 50 years maybe we’ll see Feng Tianwei’s legendary bat. From KeropokMan’s blog.
THERE is a difference between
Singaporeans who were born and raised here and those who were recruited
to win medals for the country (“Simply Feng-tastic” by Mrs Eunice
Ang-Choo Sok Ee; yesterday). While paddler Feng Tianwei is a Singaporean
who made history by winning the country its first individual Olympic
medal in more than 50 years, she is unlike the first Olympic medallist,
weightlifter Tan Howe Liang, who was a home-grown sportsman.
Mrs Ang-Choo’s remark that she, too, is a
foreign import by virtue of her heritage is puzzling because she was
born here. My grandparents arrived from China, but I do not consider
myself an import, because I was born in Singapore. Certainly, I shall
feel proud if Feng’s children win medals for Singapore, provided they
are born here.
As a former Chinese citizen, Feng can opt to return to China. For us, Singapore is home.
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Foreign Sports-men-women FTW!
If it were not for the new citizens, 2nd rung exports from China though
they may be when they left and lured by the promise of competing in the
world stage which might be denied if they remained in Xian or somewhere,
Singapore would not get even a medal. Not even if we increased the
pledge to lend IMF US$10 billion instead of the US$4 billion.
Oh we keep hearing the line that Singapore has never gotten a medal
since Tan Howe Liang blablabla. FFS, in 1960, we were not the Singapore
as we know it. We had autonomy since 1959, but not independence. So in
technicolour technicality, Feng Tianwei's FTW bronze in ping pong is our
first ever Olympic medal. And give Feng and the other PRC talents a
break even if they can't speak English properly to our liking.
As long as no steroids consumed to make Feng grow bulgy muscles and bushy mustache, no sabotage of the opponent like scheming to make Ishikawa eat bad sashimi the night before, or other grounds for disqualification like hiring a songkok and sarong bomoh to stand next to and spit at Ishikawa before and during the match, a medal won by a citizen regardless of place of birth and previous citizenship, is still a medal won! Xenophobic Singaporeans pissing on Singapore's Olympic medal, come on.
As long as no steroids consumed to make Feng grow bulgy muscles and bushy mustache, no sabotage of the opponent like scheming to make Ishikawa eat bad sashimi the night before, or other grounds for disqualification like hiring a songkok and sarong bomoh to stand next to and spit at Ishikawa before and during the match, a medal won by a citizen regardless of place of birth and previous citizenship, is still a medal won! Xenophobic Singaporeans pissing on Singapore's Olympic medal, come on.
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The Reason Why
For the first time in 52 years, Singapore got an individual Olympic medal.
China-born paddler Feng Tianwei won the bronze in the table tennis women’s
singles competition for Singapore and this was the first time Singapore was
awarded an individual Olympic medal since 1960 when weightlifter Tan Howe Liang
got a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Games
However you won’t find too many Singaporeans celebrating in
the streets. Most Singaporeans are indifferent to the medal and according to a
local poll on Yahoo!, a whopping 77% said that they are proud of the Olympic
medal.
Now some people are wondering why this is the case. I mean
an Olympic medal for the country is an Olympic medal for the country, no matter
where the athlete was born right? So why aren’t the people of Singapore proud of
it?
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Don’t cite examples of other nations using foreign talents in sports
Other nations use foreign players to supplement their weakness in certain sports, NOT use foreigners as their KEY medal hopes or in their KEY sports. Similarly, look at the all Olympians sent by such teams that also rely on “foreign talents”. These only form a relatively small percentage of these countries total medal wins or total medal expected from all their Olympians and is usually not in their key sports or their key medal hopefuls.
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OPINION: Wei vs Wei
CNA Forum, 6 Aug 2012
"Lee Chong Wei will inspire many Malaysians to believe that they have the talent to become an Olympic champion.
Feng Tianwei will inspire many China nationals to believe that they can come to Singapore to become an Olympic champion." Link
KUCHING (11 Aug) – Reactions of Sarawakians to Pandelela Rinong Pamg’s bronze medal win in the women’s 10m platform early yesterday were of absolute delirium.
The 19-year-old Bidayuh diver’s achievement at the London Olympics was celebrated by Malaysians all over the globe, more so by Sarawakians.
“I woke up to receive the live Twitter updates on her progress because Australian national television only showed bits and pieces of the event. When I knew she had won, I jumped up and turned on the television just in time to witness her receiving the medal,” said student Melody Bedindang, who is currently studying in Australia.
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Feng Tianwei in focus: a price worth paying?
OPINION: Wei vs Wei
CNA Forum, 6 Aug 2012
"Lee Chong Wei will inspire many Malaysians to believe that they have the talent to become an Olympic champion.
Feng Tianwei will inspire many China nationals to believe that they can come to Singapore to become an Olympic champion." Link
Malaysians feel real proud winning bronze in women’s diving event
Malaysia's
Pamg Pandelela Rinong poses with the bronze medal on the podium of the
women's 10m platform final during the diving event at the London 2012
Olympic Games. (AFP Photo)
KUCHING (11 Aug) – Reactions of Sarawakians to Pandelela Rinong Pamg’s bronze medal win in the women’s 10m platform early yesterday were of absolute delirium.
The 19-year-old Bidayuh diver’s achievement at the London Olympics was celebrated by Malaysians all over the globe, more so by Sarawakians.
“I woke up to receive the live Twitter updates on her progress because Australian national television only showed bits and pieces of the event. When I knew she had won, I jumped up and turned on the television just in time to witness her receiving the medal,” said student Melody Bedindang, who is currently studying in Australia.
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Feng Tianwei in focus: a price worth paying?
Some of my regular readers have asked me for a response on Feng Tianwei's bronze medal. Yes she is a PRC and yes she won the bronze for Singapore - I am going to put aside my racist anti-PRC sentiments and instead put on the hat as a former Singapore national champion gymnast, so I can talk about her objectively, okay?
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| Oh Feng, talk about a faux pas... |
Yes she is a mercenary but aren't we all? I work in finance and do I do
my work for the love of my job or for the money? And what's wrong with
that? My boss is not buying my good will and loyalty by being nice to me
- quite the contrary, he can be quite rude with me at times actually.
But he pays well, very well indeed and I'm not his friend - I'm a paid
employee. A very well paid employee indeed.
China 1 Singapore 0
That is one sentence that sums all of my thoughts of the bronze Olympic medal.
Why? As an individual table-tennis player, Feng Tianwei deserved every
praise and 'hurray' for her skills and prowess. It is no mean feat to
get an Olympic medal albeit a bronze. Well done! You deserved the
SGD250,000 given to you.
As a player representing the Singapore team, I will NOT credit
you anything. Zilch, kosong. If she were to say the SDG250,000 meant
nothing as it is a national pride and returned the prize money, I'll
call her true-blue Singaporean. It's not the money reward but she was
'bought' from the beginning. In fact she'll be in the China B-team or
C-team and will never make it in her home country
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The great S’porean ping pong debate
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I'll be damned!
The great S’porean ping pong debate
Picture for illustration purposes only. (Photo / Wikimedia)
It’s time to stop playing this game of toxic ping pong.
Everybody’s just getting madder and nobody’s winning.
Every time Singapore’s female table tennis team plays either too well or too poorly, voices, particularly online, jump on them with enough ferocity to fuel 1,000 pulsating ping pong rallies.
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Everybody’s just getting madder and nobody’s winning.
Every time Singapore’s female table tennis team plays either too well or too poorly, voices, particularly online, jump on them with enough ferocity to fuel 1,000 pulsating ping pong rallies.
read more
Singapore debates Olympic medal
When
Feng Tianwei scooped bronze in the women’s table tennis competition in
London last week, it was Singapore’s first individual Olympic medal in
52 years
Yet amid the outpouring of pride in the city-state of 5.2m, a jarring
note of resentment has surfaced from within the winning nation.
Comments
on social media sites were quick to point out that Ms Feng was born in
mainland China, and did not get Singapore citizenship until 2008.
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of respondents in an online poll conducted by
Yahoo Singapore said they were “not proud” of a “foreign import” winning
an Olympic medal.
Should Singapore ‘Import' Athletes to Win Olympic Medals?
After 52 years of “suffering” (according
to Straits Times reporter Terence Voon), Singapore has finally got
another Olympic medal in an individual sport. Table tennis player Feng
Tianwei won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics last week, and
finally the Singapore flag was raised over the podium and the national
anthem blared throughout the stadium.
Yet back in Singapore, not everyone was celebrating. It was pointed
out that Feng Tianwei is not a native Singaporean, but a Chinese-born
athlete brought to Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme
where talented athletes are identified and given citizenship so they can
represent Singapore at international sporting events.
A Yahoo! SG online poll
found that almost eight in ten of respondents did not feel proud of
medals won by foreign talents. Many see the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme
as an effort to “buy” medals, rather than earn them through Singapore's
own efforts.
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No glitter in ‘imported’ medals
When China-born Feng Tianwei won Singapore’s first individual
bronze medal in table tennis at the Olympics, the republic’s first medal
since 1960, instead of nationwide celebrations, her victory sparked
strong criticism of the government’s programme of importing sports
talents from abroad.
A TUSSLE of will appears to have broken
out between the government and many of its people over the issue of
attracting foreign talent to win sports medals.
Actually, sports
are only a part of an overall policy that is becoming increasingly
controversial of using its wealth to short-circuit national
achievements.
Looks like the NATIONAL CONversation Is Not Going Anywhere
The conciliatory feeling I had for PAP lasted less than 24 hours. I am sorry. The comments I received from my readers
woke me up to the fact that I erred. I made a stupid mistake when I
wrote that the PAP scumbags did not take advantage of our 47th NDP to
advertise their brand, Horror of horrors, they did it with a contingent
of indescribables carrying flags showing their 'circled lightnings'.
What a shame!
The beauty of blogging about the sins of PAP is that I learn much from
my readers who take the effort to comment on my writing. Good or bad, I
gratefully and humbly accept. For as old as I live, I shall continue to
learn
活到老学到老
Now seeing this video,
