AP - Associated Press -- Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei show off their silver medals.
Okay, silver is still not my favourite colour but it wouldn't do, no matter how busy I am, not to at the very least commemorate this moment in history. =) It's been 48 years since Singapore last won a medal and now we have a silver from our table tennis team comprising of Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei. This silver is as good as a gold to me. =)
Yesterday evening, Singapore may have lost to China in the Women's Team Table Tennis finals but what they've won is much more than the silver medal.
In a short while, I need to go back and finish up some work for later today but I really want to try and put some of this down in words.
Singapore was never ever expected to beat the Chinese team and so, I was really happy that they played some quite interesting table tennis and didn't just sit back and go though the paces. The match between Li Jiawei and Zhang Yining was really quite exciting. Although, of course, Singapore's semi-final match against South Korea was still more breadthtaking because of how close it was and how nail-biting it was but the finals were still really good to watch. Boy, those girls from China really are very good.
For me, the real story of the women's team table tennis at the Beijing Olympics isn't that of China winning the Gold but of Singapore winning the Silver.
Reuters, AP, AP -- Feng Tianwei's amazing semi-finals performance. A star to watch.
A forty-eight year wait for a medal of any colour, years of hardfought battles and missed chances, a heartwrenching near miss in the previous Olympics, a heartbreaking lost for Jiawei in the Beijing semi-final match, a redeeming victory in the team doubles match, an unlikely heroine in Feng Tianwei, a leap of joy, tears overflowing and what is IMO one of the most moving moments of all... when Ng Ser Miang placed those medals around their necks and hugged them. For all who know who he is and his dedication to sports in Singapore, I'm sure you, like me, must have had a lump in your throat and maybe even tears in your eyes when he proudly presented the medals to the team. What a moment it must have been for the three girls and their coach, what a moment it must have been for Ng Ser Miang, what a moment it must have been for a small nation with few huge sporting achievements and what a story it makes.
Reuters, AP -- Perhaps one of the most memorable photos in Singapore sports history, Li Jiawei breaks down in tears as she hugs Feng Tianwei after Feng Tianwei's victory clinched the team a moment in history. Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei, Liu Guodong and Li Jiawei celebrate their semi-final victory over South Korea.
Yes, I know there are rumblings not just in Singapore but in the news overseas too, that the three of them aren't Singapore-born and were brought in to try and bring sporting success to Singapore. I, however, will not hold this against them. Sports imports aren't new and many countries, including bigger and more powerful sporting nations like the US, England, Australia, Japan etc all have imported sporting talents and are still currently importing talents. The world is now much smaller than it was and even in the days of our ancestors, they too were constantly moving and searching for a better life and opportunities, what more today. If our ancestors stayed put, the Singapore of today, heck, the world of today, would look very different.
And I love sports and I know just how much dedication is needed and how many sacrifices sportsmen and women make in order to excel at their sport. It doesn't matter how talented one is but if they don't put in the hardwork and make the sacrifices, it doesn't matter where they were born and where they first picked up the sport, they would still not make it anywhere. In my opinion, Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei, Tao Li and Jing Junhong have chosen to live and play for Singapore and to me that's enough. If they chose to make Singapore their home, then they are Singaporean. And this goes for any one, sportsmen or not, that immigrate to Singapore.
Technically speaking when my parents were born, Singapore as a nation didn't even exist and all my grandparents weren't even born on this island. My paternal grandmother and her family, as well as my maternal grandparents were all born in China. They were immigrants who worked hard and made good and gave life to my parents and brought them up as best they could. I know that this isn't even unsual in Singapore. Lots of Singaporeans forget so easily that not so very long ago, our parents, our grandparents and our great-grandparents also crossed the seas to live and work in a place they did not consider home initially but finally did. What these athletes and other foreign workers are doing aren't really that different from what our forefathers did not so long ago and I for one don't see what all this fuss is about.
So from the very bottom of my heart, I congratulate the Singapore Women's Table Tennis team for giving our small country a big moment to remember. Majulah Singapura... may there be many more wonderful moments for Singapore. =)
Reuters, AP -- A glittering moment in history.
No comments:
Post a Comment