Wednesday 27th August 2008
As I mentioned in my blog post about visiting the Singapore Table Tennis Association, I am currently on a working holiday, visiting the UK and Western Europe and trying to fit in as much table tennis as possible at the same time! So every now and then I'll post an update on the various table tennis clubs and tournaments that I visit, and share my thoughts on the local scene.So let's start with Singapore. It's been quite interesting turning up in Singapore on Friday morning (the 22nd of August), right in the middle of Singapore's table tennis frenzy. Back in Australia, I thought we were doing quite well getting the odd 30 minutes of Olympic coverage here and there, and an occasional news item online. But it's nothing in comparison to what's going on over here.
With the silver medal won by the Women's Team being their only medal of the Olympics, and the possibility of their women snagging another medal in the Women's Singles, there has not been a day where table tennis has been out of the media. I've seen the Singaporean women on the news, on the various sports channels, on the front page of the papers, and I've even heard the Li Jia Wei vs Guo Yue bronze medal match being broadcast on the radio!
While the success of the women has been well and truly front and center over here, there have been other less positive aspects of table tennis that have also made news. The failure of the Singapore Olympic administration to provide a coach for Men's Singles competitor Gao Ning in his round of 32 match against Tan Ruiwu, in which Gao Ning crashed out 0-4, sparked another round of controversy. First and foremost was everyone wanting to know what happened - then came the explanation and the sacking of the Singaporean team manager Antony Lee by one month old STTA president Lee Bee Wah. Head coach Liu Guodong has also been informed that he might not have his contract renewed.
The actions of Ms Lee have come under a lot of public criticism, both for the timing (it was done while the team was still celebrating in Beijing), and the decision itself. But one crucial question has to date been ignored by the Singaporean media - what kind of athlete has to have a coach hold his hand in order to win a match? Why didn't Gao Ning show some intestinal fortitude and fight harder to win? His opponent was ranked well below him in the ITTF rankings, and Gao is supposed to be a professional player. Surely he could exercise his brain a little and try to come up with a strategy or two of his own? If he had done that and still failed to win, then these complaints would have more merit. But from all accounts that I have read and seen (I didn't see the actual match) he meekly folded up and gave in.
So it's been kind of strange to have a positive surfeit of table tennis wherever I looked. A bit surreal really, in a good way of course. To see the sport written about as a mainstream sport, even if only due to Singapore's Olympic medal fever, has been terrific. I can only wish that we can do that around the world someday.
One final thing I'll mention is the Singaporean ambivilence to the issue that their successful Women's team is made up of Chinese-born immigrants. The locals here have a mixed reaction to this fact, some despairing of the situation that their own home grown player's aren't good enough, some firmly against what they see as the blatant buying of an Olympic medal, and others perfectly indifferent to the issue at all. With both the USA and Australia also sporting women's teams made up of Chinese born competitors, it is very interesting to wonder what our own countries reactions would have been if our ladies had been able to replicate the Singaporean success.
I'm heading off tonight for London, where I'll be staying for a week before going to Wales and the Cardiff Open. I'm hoping to pop into a couple of London clubs if possible, so hopefully I'll have more to report soon!
