Foreign Sports Talent- A Failure?

[erection day]

I was a little dismayed to follow the recent events unfolding at the sporting front involving foreign sports talent. Only a week ago, it was reported that two new foreign Chinese badminton players who have been headhunted to boost our nationaly squad have called it quit (for reasons still unknown to us). Last week, there was 'good' news from Li Jiawei who admitted that she has got engaged to a Chinese businessman. Many wonder if she will return to China to settle down (just like Xue Li before her- that talented table tennis player who we all thought would settle down for good here following her excellent form after the Commonwealth and Asian Games). Few days ago- another bombshell- that cute Chinese table tennis coach Liu Guodong is not renewing his contract at the end of the year. And there are fears that his protege- Feng Tianwei might follow his mentor.

To understand more on the fiasco, do read the following-

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/281545.asp

Edited October 15, 2008 by erection day

[Guest Anti- LBW]

The cute Liu Guo Dong not renewing contract. Li Jia Wei and gang all seem unhappy. All Lee Bee Wah's fault. Ever since she taken over STTA just before the Olympics, its nothing but trouble. So what if she just recovered from cancer. She's still a menopaused bitch with leadership issues. Beside sacking the men's team coach upon the Olympic Silver victory, the petty arguments she put forth on team spirits and bring SG table tennis to higher level, she can't even put forth a remuneration package to retain a Olympic Silver Coach. I think she should resign and go teach kindergarten, which seem to be her style of and forte in leadership.

[Guest Anti- LBW]

Forgot to mention on her unsincere apology to the media on throwing the "wet blanket". She's such a lousy leader that governement have to get in Dr Vivian to clear up her mess. So why is she still President of STTA? To get good foreign talents, first sack the useless locals.

[Guest Anti- LBW]

A recent article on the useless President of STTA.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/08/ms-lee...discriminately/

[maturemedium]

Total waste of time and millions of dollars.

These people come here.. dig gold..make $$.. and go home at the end of the day and enjoy comfort retirement. So many of them.

Expect them to settle here like our forefather?? Forget it. Times are different. Their roots is not here. They will go home with all the money made here.

Sorry to say, but its true.

Edited October 15, 2008 by maturemedium

[Guest Guest]

with or without lee bee wah, the coach will still go due to his perceived financial incentive expected.

a pay of $108K here vs MORE than $1000K elsewhere, which one will you choose, especially when taking into account that you are not a citizen of s'pore.

therefore loyalty need not be an issue or be considered.

most (not all) of those foreign-borned are best 3rd (not even 2nd)tier or worse in the own country, they choose to leave their mother country becos of

improved status and financial improvement/gain.

[Guest sdfg]

Singapore need foreign talent, whether from Malaysia, China, western countries. The government is intelligent to know that the population is just too small, to build the world-class city. That's why, all the major projects or developments are usually with assistance or direct hiring of foreigners. Eg, all the major landmarks like Changi Airport, Esplanade, Singapore Flyer are built/ desigend by foreingers. But as we get used to these, we begin calling them a part of Singpore. To make Singapore into a "sports nation" and to be great in sports, its yet another major project which we will never succeed on our own.

[Guest sdfg]

with or without lee bee wah, the coach will still go due to his perceived financial incentive expected.

a pay of $108K here vs MORE than $1000K elsewhere, which one will you choose, especially when taking into account that you are not a citizen of s'pore.

therefore loyalty need not be an issue or be considered.

most (not all) of those foreign-borned are best 3rd (not even 2nd)tier or worse in the own country, they choose to leave their mother country becos of

improved status and financial improvement/gain.

Top sportsman and coaches are highly paid around the world, and there are too few of them. With the Silver medal, Liu Guodong is already ranked as a top coach in the world. If Singapore wants another medal in the next Olympic, it should learn to PAY the market rate to keep this talent.

[Guest guest]

I don't care a damn whether they stay or they go.

I don't cheer or celebrate when they got the silver medal.

We know what they are here for.

Its just a transaction. They want $$$$ and singapore wants medal.

Its a fair deal.

If there is more $$$$ elsewhere, of course they will move on.

You think they will be loyal to Singapore? Fat hope. Wake up lah.

[erection day]

I think with the recent silver Olympic medal haul, most of us can heave a sigh of relief. So, what if we dont win another medal in London? That expectation has been slightly lifted. I really think that the foreign programme can only be considered a success if it manages to produce a 'true' Spore born Olympic winner in the process. Of course we still value those Chinese athletes who has taken up PR here but if they all start leaving for their home country in the end, our perception of these athletes might change. And not for the better.

[Guest sigh]

All these foreign trash crap applies to every area besides the sports scene. Instead of spending so much money on these ungrateful imbeciles, why don't the authorities do more for the true locals.

[Guest bluebell]

Agreed. Let them go, there are just looking of $$$.

[Tight Ass]

Ya lor, ya lor!!! our govt paid obscenely to FT for their glory and yet ignored my glory hxxx which has been verbally fxxked loose for two years in NS. Now Li Jia Wei happily get herself ready to be screwed by a rich businessman and I have yet to find a beloved willy to match my jewel. Unfair

[Guest Anti- LBW]

The Lee Bee Wah make front page again tonight on the WanBao. Apparently, she has failed to even retain Liu Guodong and screwed up again with her phone call. What is wrong with this woman? How the hell she make it as AMK MP??? The world Number 2 team in table tennis is going down the drains...... Time for government to wake up and take actions - SACK HER from STTA.

[oralb]

i have a different take on the LBW saga during the Olympics.

was she wrong to be mad at the coaches? there were 5 coaches and yet when one felt ill, the remaining 4 didnt bother to stand in? That i think it is the fault of the head coach (though i agreed he is cute). Can you imagine the male player with no coach during the match? Put yourself in his shoes, that adsence of coach was telling the world that the coaches though you have adsolutely no chance of getting a medal, in short you are foresaken...

so what the ladies won a silver medal, does that meant the head coach should not be held accountable for that?

so winning the medal is the most important thing? (err.. i guessed it is) what happened to sportsmanship?

If LBW had any fault, it would be she is too vocal, came across as too hard a person, she shot her plans to the media before discussing with the coaches.

that was more of a EQ issue...

and yes, OB still like guys over girls...

[akated]

in response to OB:

LBW, as a politician, should have been more shrewd in realising that the timing was terrible to be lambasting people left, right, centre. Yes; people may have committed mistakes. But why shoot your mouth off so easily when you could have (and should have) followed the government's typical response of "needing to wait for the results of an enquiry" before announcing anything?

Is sportsmanship about hysterically placing blame onto others? Her outburst indicated that she had no sportsmanship either.

You mentioned that "If LBW had any fault, it would be she is too vocal, came across as too hard a person, she shot her plans to the media before discussing with the coaches". Well, that's not a small fault is it? Not when because of your insensitivity, you destroyed the jubilant mood of the win, caused friction within ranks, and possibly the resignation of key players. It is also not a small fault to not realise the importance of consulting with your team before making any announcements on air. Again, she, as a politician, and a PAP one at that, should be well-versed in this. Because of her background, being impatient and hysterical is no small fault. It is a major one.

The role of any head of an organisation is to galvanise the followers to achieve specific goals. Now all these events have happened; surely you must concede that her fault is more than "being vocal". She has failed to unite the team members to achieve the goals of the organisation.

In the coporate world, she would have been sacked.

Edited October 15, 2008 by akated

[Guest koguma28]

in response to OB:

LBW, as a politician, should be more shrewd in realising that the timing was terrible to be lambasting people left, right, centre. Yes; people may have committed mistakes. But why shoot your mouth off so easily when you could have (and should have) followed the government's typical response of "needing to wait for the results of an enquiry" before announcing anything?

Is sportsmanship about hysterically placing blame onto others? Her outburst indicated that she had no sportsmanship either.

You mentioned that "If LBW had any fault, it would be she is too vocal, came across as too hard a person, she shot her plans to the media before discussing with the coaches". Well, that's not a small fault is it? Not when because of your insensitivity, you destroyed the jubilant mood of the win, caused friction within ranks, and possibly the resignation of key players. It is also not a small fault to not realise the importance of consulting with your team before making any announcements on air. Again, she, as a politician, and a PAP one at that, should be well-versed in this. Because of her background, being impatient and hysterical is no small fault. It is a major one.

The role of any head of an organisation is to galvanise the followers to achieve specific goals. Now all these events have happened; surely you must concede that her fault is more than "being vocal". She has failed to unite the team members to achieve the goals of the organisation.

In the coporate world, she would have been sacked.

when is the good timing? wait for the whole team to come back to Sin? wait till all the celebration is over? wait till everyone forget about the winning medal? one mth, two mths, one year, two years?

in the corporate world, does one wait for the right time to announce retrenchment? golden handshake? firing? bankruptcy?

[Guest Anti- LBW]

How is it that someone of engineer background gets appointed president of STTA? Did she previously represented Singapore in national team , or did she represented her table tennis club in school team while she was studying in Malacca?

http://www.parliament.gov.sg/AboutUs/Org-MP-CV-LeeBeeWah.htm

Running a sports association is entirely a different ball game from running a property consulting company. Her brilliant idea: Appoint a CEO to STTA, and we'll be better than we already are. Run STTA like a corporation - establish clear cut policies and procedures, ensure internal equity in remuneration packages, practice and comunicate reward and punishment guidelines. Fact is, sports club are nothing like corporation. Sports club is about passion, team building, trust and inspiring atheletes to be the best.

It took Singapore more than a decade to build up the Table tennis team, since Jin Junhong's era. It is pity to see all these efforts go down the drain due to a woman. Honestly, does anyone believe that Lee Bee Wah is the person that is capable of bringing in a higher scorecard in next Olympic?

Online poll result also say Lee Bee Wah should resign.

http://divinediary.com/tag/stta/

[akated]

koguma28:

good timing in this case is when you have done your homework and finished investigations as to why no coach was deployed. because that's when you have evidence to back up your decision.

and of course (sane) people in the coporate world wait for the right time to announce all those things. and they'd do so with empathy. because you never know when you may need your men again.

Edited October 15, 2008 by akated

[Guest Anti- LBW]

FYI, she did not even list "table tennis" as an interest in her CV. Since she is a golfer, why not the government make her the President of Singapore Golf Association instead?

http://www.parliament.gov.sg/AboutUs/Org-MP-CV-LeeBeeWah.htm

[olderchnchub]

In the coporate world, she would have been sacked

101 percent right on the money...no ifs...no buts!!! If this is how she behaves in the public eye, one can only shudder on how she behaves behind closed doors. She has to leave, for if we let it slide, I can safely say almost all her subordinates will suffer her wrath...empress dowager mentality comes t o mind. We are all judged on how we perform in the most trying of times....not in the best of times. Any idiot can perform during good times. Why are we, why is anyone making excuses for her? Actions and behavior very unbecoming of a leader, a political figure. Definitlely inadequate. NEXT!

PS...And for those of us Singaporeans who have a very subserviant mentatiltY (85 percent)...please remember....we are PAYING HER SALARY!

Edited October 15, 2008 by olderchnchub

[Guest sackLBW]

FYI, she did not even list "table tennis" as an interest in her CV. Since she is a golfer, why not the government make her the President of Singapore Golf Association instead?

Becos:

(1) Women are bad drivers, more so ugly looking bitches like her

(2) She dun have the intelligence to keep up with the golfers in the Golf Association, whereas in the table tennis association she is about the cleverest of them all

(3) With her EQ level, the authorities tot she should learn to tackle the softer ping pong balls first, before considering to upgrade her to handle the harder golf balls.....unfortunately she flopped her assignment big time, looks like its "BALLS to you LBW"

[Guest koguma28]

koguma28:

good timing in this case is when you have done your homework and finished investigations as to why no coach was deployed. because that's when you have evidence to back up your decision.

and of course (sane) people in the coporate world wait for the right time to announce all those things. and they'd do so with empathy. because you never know when you may need your men again.

hi akated, thanks for explaination although i don't agree what what you said

IMHO, i don't think the whole STTA saga is as simple as what people have been discussing. i have followed the news on most local papers, like Zao Bao, Wan Bao, Xin Ming, TODAY, Straits Times. there are few occassions, on the same day, different papers have different content on the same issues. example Zao Bao reported that LBW is sacking the manager and coach, whereas on the same day, the rest of the papers just reported that the manager will be sacked or someone must answered to the incident. it is only 1-2 days later then all the papers reported that the coach will be sacked.

why is there a delay in such impt report by the remaining papers? in addition, LBW mentioned that she regretted speaking to the reporter who first reported this incident. if the reporter stands by what he reported, shouldn't be comes out and defence himself? he didn't and hence it makes the whole issue even more confusing and suspicious.

so, no one really knows what has happened at beijing except those peoples involved.

i have never trusted what is reported in the newspaper, especially the local papers. 2 weeks ago, a friend of mine answered a newspaper reporter interview via email. however when the newspaper quote what he said, they actually change the word he used. it change the meaning of what my friend said. this is not the first time that i heard such complains from friends.

SO ...

i still believe that the media has blown out the whole STTA issues.

i still believe LBW is suitable to be the STTA president and she will improve the table tennis level in SIN. at least she will be better than the previous STTA president.

[Guest Anti- LBW]

But with the previous president, whoever he/ she is, we won silver medal. Lee Bee Wah joined just 2 months before the Olympics so its quite impossible that she contributed to the victory in anyway. I first saw her on Zao An Ni Hao with the 3 star players, the day after the return to Singapore. Liu Guodong wasn't on the show for some reason. Throughout the interview, she gave no credits to the coaches or the previous management but bullshitted throughout the programme. I still remember her saying something like: "我每一场球赛都去...为新加坡打气....不管多累....这是很重要的...“ (My translation: I go every match, cheer for singapore, i very tiried but i still go hor, this is important lor, that's why we can get silver lor")

Like anyone is interested in what a power-hungry, freaking-ugly menopause woman got to say....

[Guest Anti- LBW]

Actually, on the program, she also sounded like:

Since I go for every match to support our Singapore team, all coaches and team members of STTA should do so likewise. I am the president and I am leading by example. We as the most-promising team representating Singapore must exhibit high team spirt at all times. By leaving me as a 1-person cheer team for the Gao Ning match, you all make me look like idiot. So what if you have another lined-up match later the following day or you just had a great win last night, its no excuse as I as the president go for every match.

Can't blame me for different intrepretations... its the disgusting way that she talks lead people to mis-interpretation.

[abang]

Theme song for Ms Lee Bee Wah-the 'out-going, outspoken' STTA president:

"Can't buy me love.by the Beatles

Can't buy me love, love

Can't buy me love

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright

I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright

'cause i don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

I'll give you all i got to give if you say you love me too

I may not have a lot to give but what i got i'll give to you

I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so

Can't buy me love, no no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond ring and i'll be satisfied

Tell me that you want the kind of thing that money just can't buy

I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

Now after the joy of the Olympic medal, all hopes are now evaporated... many years of hard work gone.

Ms Lee - take the cue and walk through the exit.. dont look back.. dont bother to utter a single word...

cos no one wants to clear your mess again...

You have single-handedly destroyed the hardworks of all our efforts.. you should be SACKED immediately

and banish to never-never-land...

[Guest Guest]

was she wrong to be mad at the coaches? there were 5 coaches and yet when one felt ill, the remaining 4 didnt bother to stand in? That i think it is the fault of the head coach (though i agreed he is cute). Can you imagine the male player with no coach during the match? Put yourself in his shoes, that adsence of coach was telling the world that the coaches though you have adsolutely no chance of getting a medal, in short you are foresaken...

much said abt lbw was not wrong, personal opinion is poor/bad mgmt by head coach when he did not assigned a coach to gao ning.

head coach voiced that he should be raised to the status of consultant (in terms of level and salary) on the basis of the silver medal.

let him go. doubt he can get the more than $1 million as he mentioned. if he does, then good luck to him.

go immediately, show action and not words words words. small guy with an unmatching big mouth.

[akated]

hi koguma28,

i agree with you that the whole saga is not as simple as it looks. nothing reported in the newspapers ever is. the point is that LBW should know better than to fall into the trap of letting herself become the clown of this whole situation. the mess that she created was so big that it required a minister to bail her out.

it is common for different papers to have delayed content. cos the papers don't share reporters.

why should the reporter need to clarify anything, if there is nothing to clarify in the first place? if the reporter reported the situation wrongly, LBW can always sue, can't she?

i still believe LBW is suitable to be the STTA president and she will improve the table tennis level in SIN. at least she will be better than the previous STTA president.

actually, i can't comment whether she can "improve the table tennis level in SIN", seeing that she's never had anything to do with the sport, nay, any form of sports / sports management experience in her life. however, her presence in the association will always remind people of that ugly post-olympics incident. now i dare say that can't be too good for morale.

[reflection]

If only her mouth can be as tight as my ass, this world will be peaceful. Unfortunately, for the sake of justifying her pay, she need to make herself so loose and now all the diseases set in.

I thought this remarks is fantastic !

[Guest Anti- LBW]

If government really wants table-tennis to sports that bring in the next Olympic medal, get a better president to replace the dim-witted LBW. She can have plenty of vision and talent, but we simply DON'T GIVE A DAMN. I'm not being rude, but she is just an insignificant SCREWED UP fairy. There are many younger and more dynamic ministers than her that can take the role.

[Guest koguma28]

hi koguma28,

actually, i can't comment whether she can "improve the table tennis level in SIN", seeing that she's never had anything to do with the sport, nay, any form of sports / sports management experience in her life. however, her presence in the association will always remind people of that ugly post-olympics incident. now i dare say that can't be too good for morale.

how about we leave the past behind and move on. why do we choose to remember the ugly post-olympics incident? why must we condemn someone for what he/she did in the past?

at least she make an effort to promote local players. based on what i observed, the previous president did nothing to groom local talents. he just went to china and get players like wang yuegu, feng tianwei, gao ning, yang zi. the only 2 local players which i can think of are jason and lee peng. however these 2 players are never the key players sent for major tournments. even in SEA Games, jason is always the 4th players, after the 3 china-imported male players.

how can this contribute to the growth of the local pool of players?

at least since LBW came on board, she promote 2 local players from Youth team to national team. at least to me she has made a good move which the previous president did not do.

btw, not all President of the National Sports Associations (NSA) have experienced in the sport they are looking after. similarily, some school principals are not teachers themselves. yet they still can run the schools well. so i won't jump into conclusion that she can't run the association well just because she has anything to do with the sport. oo yah, in case you don't know, LBH played table tennis in NTU and she is the captain of the ladies team. She represented NTU in tournament before. hence i won't said she has no experience in table tennis

cheers

[akated]

how about we leave the past behind and move on.

that sounds awfully familiar.. oh yah PAP rethoric. heh. somehow this line of argument only applies to PAPpies.

i didn't know that she played table tennis before. my bad, and i do apologise for the oversight.

anyway, if you reread my comments, my very first post was in response to ob's remark that her only fault was "being too vocal, came across as too hard a person, she shot her plans to the media before discussing with the coaches", which i inferred as ob being sympathetic to her behaviour, and to which i post a rebuttal. naturally, we have to "choose to remember the ugly post-olympics incident", since that was the basis of ob's arguments, and precisely the incident which still affects the STTA to this day. any comments made by anyone in the STTA now (and i suspect, even in the near-term future) will have to be framed with the knowledge that LBW had said what she said. hence, my comments.

i did not actually ask for her to be sacked, unlike some other forumers. of course, there is every chance that she may well succeed. we shall see in 2012 what her report card is like.

don't think i have anything new to add. and so i shall stop here.

Edited October 20, 2008 by akated

[Guest koguma28]

that sounds awfully familiar.. oh yah PAP rethoric. heh. somehow this line of argument only applies to PAPpies.

i didn't know that she played table tennis before. my bad, and i do apologise for the oversight.

anyway, if you reread my comments, my very first post was in response to ob's remark that her only fault was "being too vocal, came across as too hard a person, she shot her plans to the media before discussing with the coaches", which i inferred as ob being sympathetic to her behaviour, and to which i post a rebuttal. naturally, we have to "choose to remember the ugly post-olympics incident", since that was the basis of ob's arguments, and precisely the incident which still affects the STTA to this day. any comments made by anyone in the STTA now (and i suspect, even in the near-term future) will have to be framed with the knowledge that LBW had said what she said. hence, my comments.

i did not actually ask for her to be sacked, unlike some other forumers. of course, there is every chance that she may well succeed. we shall see in 2012 what her report card is like.

don't think i have anything new to add. and so i shall stop here.

nah ... is my mum who teach me to forgive and forget

and she is not from PAP

cheers

[Guest koguma28]

someone wrote on a forum about what the media responded to the incident during olympics.

the same thought that i am having.

事件昨天由海峡时报星期刊首度报道。今天海峡时报继续跟进。联合早报今天也跟进报道。但是，平心而论，正如成阳兄指出的，两报的报道角度有很大的不同。

联合早报是以“李美花没说要开除谁”的角度报道的，而今天的海峡时报坚称李美花决定要解职领队。问题是，联合早报的“开除”一词是哪来的？因为昨天的海峡时报也没有使用类似“开除”的字眼。

“李美花没说开除”，那么是不是说过要解职领队呢？联合早报没有明确说。同时，联合早报记者发表一篇日记，说“不知道是否因为过于气愤，以致李会长再也沉不住气，向新加坡媒体说了不该说的话，引起新加坡国内的强烈反弹。”作为中文读者，我感兴趣的是，这句“不该说的话”是哪句话？联合早报有责任说出来，而不应该语焉不详。

英文报纸和中文报纸对本地同一事件的报道出现如此大的差异，令人遗憾。是不是会造成这样的情形，由于阅读文字不同，而造成对同一事件基本事实的认知也不同？

OB note: I enlarge the chinese fonts for easy reading

[Guest koguma28]

The Lee Bee Wah make front page again tonight on the WanBao. Apparently, she has failed to even retain Liu Guodong and screwed up again with her phone call. What is wrong with this woman? How the hell she make it as AMK MP??? The world Number 2 team in table tennis is going down the drains...... Time for government to wake up and take actions - SACK HER from STTA.

are you referring to this?

刘国栋说：“我打给会长，就想问问合约是否还能改；她回答我说合约内容和我们之前谈的没什么两样，不可以改变，续约与否由你自己决定。”

刘国栋说，他一听会长的话，没有回旋商量的余地，就直接回答：“如果是这样，我是不可能在这个合约上签字的。”

他说：“我感觉她的态度、口气都不是太好，也没有挽留我的意思，我也就没必要再讲下去了，反正这通电话很不愉快。”

被问他和会长的合作感受时，刘国栋说：“我觉得她是个不懂乒乓的人，没什么好说的了。”

IMHO, 挽留 means 使将要离去的人留下来. since LIU used the word, it means he already made up his mind to leave. do you mean LIU will change his mind to stay on if LBW request him to stay? the reasons for LIU to leave is because he and STTA (not LBW) cannot agreed to the terms in the new contract. STTA has limited funds. if they agreed with LIU request, may i know from where they get the additional funds? SSC will not give them additional funding just to keep a coach.

[Guest bluebell]

are you referring to this?

刘国栋说：“我打给会长，就想问问合约是否还能改；她回答我说合约内容和我们之前谈的没什么两样，不可以改变，续约与否由你自己决定。”

刘国栋说，他一听会长的话，没有回旋商量的余地，就直接回答：“如果是这样，我是不可能在这个合约上签字的。”

他说：“我感觉她的态度、口气都不是太好，也没有挽留我的意思，我也就没必要再讲下去了，反正这通电话很不愉快。”

被问他和会长的合作感受时，刘国栋说：“我觉得她是个不懂乒乓的人，没什么好说的了。”

IMHO, 挽留 means 使将要离去的人留下来. since LIU used the word, it means he already made up his mind to leave. do you mean LIU will change his mind to stay on if LBW request him to stay? the reasons for LIU to leave is because he and STTA (not LBW) cannot agreed to the terms in the new contract. STTA has limited funds. if they agreed with LIU request, may i know from where they get the additional funds? SSC will not give them additional funding just to keep a coach.

Hi Koguma28,

U are a very open minded guy in this issue. I am agreed with u.

[Guest Guest]

Country perform well in Olympic for 2 possible reasons:

1) they have natuaral pool of talents to select the best

2) they have money to buy over talents.

Singapore does not have the former, but have the later. No money or not willing to pay? Stinch your money on coaches and players, so you can pay more to hire "better" people to run STTA, like CEO or president?

Might as well drop the idea of wining Olympic.

Are players and coaches really rewarded in Singapore? Remember Tan How Liang, our true blue Olympic hero. I saw him a few years back at National Stadium gym, more like a janitor. And what happen to his coach??

http://www.sportsmuseum.ssc.gov.sg/museum/...t=28&cat=29

[Panda_9791]

Hey Guest, Uncle Tan Howe Liang is already 75 yrs old leh... how young do u think he can look like?? I bump into him only last saturday during breakfast time. Man, he's fit as a boulder :thumb:

[Guest koguma28]

Forgot to mention on her unsincere apology to the media on throwing the "wet blanket". She's such a lousy leader that governement have to get in Dr Vivian to clear up her mess. So why is she still President of STTA? To get good foreign talents, first sack the useless locals.

Apparently you are not updated by what is happening in the international table tennis scene. the situation we are in now are the results of the previous STTA's president. so if you expect the new president to do the same as the previous one, we are asking trouble !!

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So what’s next for Singapore table tennis after Olympic success?

August 25, 2008

After the euphoria of winning an Olympic medal dies down, what is next for the future of Singapore table tennis? The question is asked because the current strategy of recruiting foreign talent will probably see a natural death.

Why? Because from September 1st, new global rulings will come into place to prevent the easy switching of nationality. The recent Beijing Olympics saw China-born players take up 25% of all playing slots. At the 2007 Women’s World Cup, 13 out of 16 players were from China.

And what are latest rules by the International Table Tennis Federation? Players aged over 21 years cannot play for their new country at World Championships and World Cups. Players aged 15 to 18 years old must wait five years before competing for their new country, while those 18 to 21 years of age will be made to wait seven long years. Those who are below the age of 15 years must cool their heels for three.

The ITTF felt that their world championships and world cups were less attractive because of the Chinese dominance. The Olympic Games are exempt from this ruling because only the International Olympic Council has jurisdiction over the Games.

If there was a strong second tier of locally born table tennis players, this ruling would have little effect on Singapore but that is not the case. Earlier in the year, the Singapore Sports Council announced a list of model National Sports Associations and the Singapore Table Tennis Association was not on that list because they were adjudged not to have a sustainable youth development system in place.

At the Korat SEA Games in 2007, Singapore won gold by fielding China-born athletes Gao Ning, Yang Zi, Cai Xiaoli, Wang Yuegu, Li Jiawei and Sun Bei Bei to win both the men’s and women’s team gold. No Singapore-born players were good enough to play, an indication that they had not even been developed to South East Asian standards.

China-born Feng Tianwei is only 22 years old and so has many more years ahead of service to Singapore but there will be no Feng Tianweis coming along anymore. Either STTA has to find China-born athletes before the age of 15 or ramp up its youth development programme.

Either route is fraught with difficulties.

[erection day]

It came to light that our national table tennis coach Liu was only drawing a monthly salary of $4,500. And when Spore TT Association offers him a raise of 40 per cent to $6,300, coach Liu turned it down, calling it 'insulting' and 'insincere'. You know what, I think he is right. I think for a coach who brought so much glory and an Olympic medal to our country (and surely can contribute a lot more in the future) and to pay that amount of salary is ludicrous. To put things into perspective, the Straits Times made a salary comparison with other coaches.

- National table tennis coaches in China- about $15,000 a month

-National tt coaches in South Korea and Japan- about $9,000 a month

-Top provincial table tennis coaches in China- ABOUT $9,000 a month

- JAN POULSEN (2002-2003)- MORE THAN $20,000 a month!!!

- John Dempsey- More than $8,000 amonth as Spore swimming director of coaching

-Top S-League coaches- about $8,000 a month

It's a joke I think. Singapore is always saying it wants to promote sports. But it is willing to pay only peanuts. Just look at the salary of our national soccer players- about $3k plus. Isnt that pathetic?

[Guest Guest]

- National table tennis coaches in China- about $15,000 a month

-National tt coaches in South Korea and Japan- about $9,000 a month

-Top provincial table tennis coaches in China- ABOUT $9,000 a month

It's a joke I think. Singapore is always saying it wants to promote sports. But it is willing to pay only peanuts. Just look at the salary of our national soccer players- about $3k plus. Isnt that pathetic?

i think the "manager" of a neghbourhood coffee shop should be paid the equivalent of a food and beverage manager of

raffles hotel. just becos both sell food. i will not consider other factors. this is the logic shown here.

maybe another comparison is manager of a boutique in city plaza should be equal to manager ladies wear section in john little.

both sell ladies wear.

it's a joke acc to managers of raffles and john little managers. lol!!!!!!

[Guest denny]

i think the "manager" of a neghbourhood coffee shop should be paid the equivalent of a food and beverage manager of

raffles hotel. just becos both sell food. i will not consider other factors. this is the logic shown here.

maybe another comparison is manager of a boutique in city plaza should be equal to manager ladies wear section in john little.

both sell ladies wear.

it's a joke acc to managers of raffles and john little managers. lol!!!!!!

There are always two sides to the coin.

Ever wonder why local Singaporeans are never as passionate about representing the countries as the foreigners. If I witness a Chinese sportsperson pretending to fight for another country during the Olympics, I feel that is pretty normal. But I rarely experience a sportsperson of true Singaporean blood winning medals in major competitions.

Either the media is no longer interested in discovering local talents or they are manipulated to report only foreign talents so that more of these people would be tempted to travel here.

What's good about employing foreign talent to fight for our country in terms of sports?

1. They have been trained since young and their base is very much stronger than any locally trained player.

2. They have the determination and hunger to suffer at no costs, walking on the rough edge since young, compared to a well-fed and protected Singaporean.

3. It is also easier and faster for both the foreign talent and the country to gain popularity. That is the short cut route.

On the other hand, these people will always be guests in a hotel no matter how much loyalties they are paid. When Li Jiawei told the Chinese media during a TV interview, that "this is her home country(Beijing), no matter what I will have to win a medal in my homeland", it came out of her so easily. Why would she feel this way? How would living in China be much better than Singapore? Even if she is no longer in a competitive edge to win medals(due to her age), would Singapore be a better society to make her stay?

That is perhaps why we are called the "no-man's land" by many others...

[Guest Guest]

There are always two sides to the coin.

That is perhaps why we are called the "no-man's land" by many others...

my posting is to suggest that we must compare everything in absolute total/term.

compare not only fuji apple but also source of product: viz japan or china

of course there is also no complete wrong or right, as one always see their own point of view. ie your own side of the coin

lastly, i must say, one cannot see the true picture of one's face in the mirror.

[Guest Anti- LBW]

S$6,300?

Thats the price of hiring a HR manager, finance manager, sales manager or other managerial position of a medium size company. If LBW thinks that he can get a Olympic Silver coach with that kind of pay, she must have brain equivalent to an ape.

Or is it because she have ensure that the coach's pay cannot excced that if president or CEO of STTA?

Can't she see that with the Olympic medal, there is so much potential in bringing in sporting revenue, through sponsorship, endorsements, media activities?? Instead of paying a competitive wage to a well-deserved coach, she choose to squeeze and underpay the market rate.

Damn LBW! Why not let her be the coach instead?

[Guest Guest]

The cute Liu Guo Dong not renewing contract. She's still a menopaused bitch with leadership issues.

unning a spor

What is wrong with this woman? How the hell she make it as AMK MP??? SACK HER from STTA.

Like anyone is interested in what a power-hungry, freaking-ugly menopause woman got to say....

get a better president to replace the dim-witted LBW. I'm not being rude, but she is just an insignificant SCREWED UP fairy.

[Guest koguma28]

S$6,300?

Thats the price of hiring a HR manager, finance manager, sales manager or other managerial position of a medium size company. If LBW thinks that he can get a Olympic Silver coach with that kind of pay, she must have brain equivalent to an ape.

Or is it because she have ensure that the coach's pay cannot excced that if president or CEO of STTA?

Can't she see that with the Olympic medal, there is so much potential in bringing in sporting revenue, through sponsorship, endorsements, media activities?? Instead of paying a competitive wage to a well-deserved coach, she choose to squeeze and underpay the market rate.

Damn LBW! Why not let her be the coach instead?

i agreed with you that there is so much potential in bringing in sporting revenue, through sponsorship, endorsements, media activities. BUT where are the sponsors?

when times are good, the NSAs already having problems getting sponsors. at this time where almost every country is facing recession, it will be even harder to get sponsors. Just looks at SingaporeSailing, although they have done so well in international competitions and they get the highest funding from SSC, they are still complaining money not enough and they have problem getting funds from sponsors.

even F1 is having problems getting sponsors !!!

[doncoin]

Sponsorships are tricky. It is a lot of coordination work with the marketing, the brand, the press and the benefactor. At the end of the day for the sponsor, it's all business. How will the sponsorship affect/build my brand image? How can it increase sales?

At the end of the day, a lot of it also depends on the atheletes themselves. They need good management who will promote them to household names, names that kids even know and more importantly aspire to be someday. Unfortunately, the reality in Singapore is that many parents favour academics over athletics. Growing up, while playing sports was encouraged, spending too much time on it to perfect a move or something was discouraged.

I think in time this will change as more professional athletes emerge in Singapore some day in the future.

Sports sponsorship packages are very complex business deals involving a lot of people with varied agendas. So a $100 million contract for example, will typically be divided up at the end of the day with the sponsoree getting perhaps 55% or slightly more. The rest goes to agents, managers, lawyers etc. who put the sponsorship deal together.

[Guest Anti- LBW]

Below is what I could recall from radio-listening in 933:

During a charity dinner in China after the Oympics, Zhang Yi Ning's Olympic table tennis bat was auctioned off at first at around S$20,000. Subsequently, the auctioneer mentioned that this same bat was the one that was used to beat Li Jiawei. With the mention of Li Jia Wei, a bidder instanteously doubled the auction to S$40,000.

We have a team of top table tennis female players. They rank from 4th, 7th to 9th. This is a world-class team. And none of other Singapore's team (like swimming, sailing, soccer) are in any way comparable to the table tennis team. Li Jiawei, Feng TianWei, Wang Yue Gu, Liu Guo Dong... they are all household names. In fact, they could be now more well-known than a lot of the Mediacorp celebrities. Why can't STTA leverage on that to bring in some form of revenue.... and to pay the "market rate" for players and coaches?

LBW --- wake up your bloody idea!!!!

[Guest sponsor]

If we can find another michael johnson(basketball) in singapore then you don't have to ask, sponsors will come crawling to you. Bottomline is if I sponsor u, what can i get in return i.e. just like Nike grab Tiger wood even before he won an event on PGA. These companies will have talent scouts on a lookout for ROI. Look at our Madi Mahmat, after winning the singapore open, he didn't even get an major sponsors. Most likely sponsors assumed he is not marketable...etc

On the topic of salary, one way of not offering a good package is indirectly hinting that person you are not required thus allowing him to quit on his own while a good offer is waiting for the right person to come along. We also have to look at the whole big picture. sometimes the murderer and the mastermind are not the same person. Have u hear about the joke on the leader of a notorious gang could be a nice innocent looking man in tie???

[Guest koguma28]

Below is what I could recall from radio-listening in 933:

During a charity dinner in China after the Oympics, Zhang Yi Ning's Olympic table tennis bat was auctioned off at first at around S$20,000. Subsequently, the auctioneer mentioned that this same bat was the one that was used to beat Li Jiawei. With the mention of Li Jia Wei, a bidder instanteously doubled the auction to S$40,000.

We have a team of top table tennis female players. They rank from 4th, 7th to 9th. This is a world-class team. And none of other Singapore's team (like swimming, sailing, soccer) are in any way comparable to the table tennis team. Li Jiawei, Feng TianWei, Wang Yue Gu, Liu Guo Dong... they are all household names. In fact, they could be now more well-known than a lot of the Mediacorp celebrities. Why can't STTA leverage on that to bring in some form of revenue.... and to pay the "market rate" for players and coaches?

LBW --- wake up your bloody idea!!!!

OKOK ...maybe you missed the old good times. Li Jia Wei was 4th in Jan 2007, but that was History man !!!

For those who wants the latest update,

During Olympics Period (World Ranking updated on: 8/15/2008), Li Jia Wei was 6th, Wang Yue Gu was 7th and Feng Tian Wei was 9th.

On 3 Sep 2008, Li Jia Wei was 6th, Wang Yue Gu was 7th and Feng Tian Wei was 9th (yes no change)

On 14 Oct 2008, Li Jia Wei was 6th, Feng Tian Wei was 7th and Wang Yue Gu was 8th .

Btw, I am curious but do you know how the players are ranked?

cheers.