A note to STTA.Who say we got no local talent willing to fight???

[cheowyonglee]

I hope everyone support me and support local talent.

Why you STTA mean by we Singapore got no local talents???And why are so much resources concentrating on the FT instead???Why only put in so much time and effort to groom the Ft instead of our locals???

KNN, STTA... you better wakeup!!!Fast short cut way is not the way to go.Either you listen to the mass locals or ... one day you guys will regret what you have done to our local table tennis talents.

I got alot of insider stories to tell if i want to.But, due to some reason i think i will just keep my mouth shut!But, as a true blue Singaporeans here as well as a table tennis passion players, for the good sake of our locals players who really want to play for Singapore, STTA you managements better wakeup from your FT FT FT idea!!!

http://www.teamsingapore.com.sg/content/teamsingapore/en/News/latest_news/2006/jason_ho_is_good.html

By Victor Ng in Melbourne, Pix by Aundry Gan

Quietly, he holds his own against his opponents in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. He could also hold his own when compared with his top-ranking compatriots in Team Singapore such as Yang Zi and Cai Xiaoli.

Just today alone, Jason Ho defeated Malaysia's #1 Chan Koon Wah (4-1) and India's #2 Soumyadeep Roy (4-3) in the Men's Singles today. And, win or lose, he deserves all the cheers when he meets Adam Robertson of Wales this evening in the Round of 16 quarter-final qualifier.

Adam is ranked #5 in the competition, on par with Cai Xiaoli and Australia's William Henzell (last seen defeating both Yang Zi and Xiaoli in the Men's Team quarter-finals).

Remembering

Talking about that exciting quarter-final tie against Australia, Cai Xiaoli and Yang Zi both won and lost a match each. So it was Jason's win over Trevor Brown that settled the score then.

Of course, Singapore went on to beat Wales in the semi-finals, but finally settled for silver when they succumbed to India in the finals. Jason is part - and an important one - of that silver-medal team.

What Next?

Overall, the Raffles JC student has done well during this competition at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, whether in singles or mixed doubles matches (where he partners Tan Paey Fern).

Whether he wins another medal or not in the men's singles and mixed doubles, he has done Team Singapore proud to have gone so far in his skills, poise and strategy, and deserves the credit for his achievements at such a young age.

We can expect to see more of him in table tennis competitions where he will be taken very seriously by opponents and fans alike.

 

[3_M]

As usual paying lip service

Local talent needs exposure (The New Paper, 11 Dec 2009)

By Ernest Luis

TO WHAT extent do you sacrifice local talent in order to get gold, and win for Singapore?

To start this debate, it’s worth noting that Singapore’s South-east Asia Games women’s table tennis team that won gold yesterday is actually second in the world rankings behind China.

So when is the best time to field a rising star like 19-year-old Zena Sim, the only homegrown player in the women’s team?

Firstly, the SEA Games gold medal that Singapore’s women’s team won yesterday was not its first in this regional event.

So the desperation factor was not as great.

Was this the pinnacle – the Olympics – at stake? No.

Was this the Asian Games? No.

Was this even the Commonwealth Games? No.

This was the SEA Games.

It was an event in which even Singapore’s opponents had surrendered before the semi-finals were played yesterday morning.

Malaysia said they would lose.

They lost 0-3.

Thailand – whom Singapore’s women met in the final yesterday afternoon – said way back on Tuesday it would be easier to walk back to Bangkok, than to win the gold.

They lost too, 0-3.

If the opponents were so weak in the mind, and our women’s team were so strong and confident, why the seeming ‘kiasu’ attitude of trying to seal the gold medal as early as possible?

Imagine an in-form Zena cushioned alongside Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu against the Thais in the final. Couldn’t Singapore take a little risk for some valuable exposure?

Even if Zena were to lose her game, wasn’t there still enough strength in depth from Feng and Wang to overcome any deficit in a best-of-five series?

Singapore would still have won the gold, unless they are mentally so fragile when they lose a game.

As it is, the Thais were all the stronger in terms of exposure even though they lost.

But in the Singapore team’s eagerness to seal yet another SEA Games gold medal in women’s table tennis, did they let slip a chance to expose homegrown Zena to this level of competition when they had a great chance in a final?

What is the message from the Singapore Table Tennis Association to other homegrown players when the journey got closer to a gold medal?

Was the eagerness worth the ‘sacrifice’?