Sunday, August 17, 2008

Singapore clinches a Silver medal

Singapore women's table tennis team entered as darkhorses in today's table tennis women team finals , pitting against hot favorites China.

Our trio though proved no match for their formidable opponents nevertheless they had come a long way and has performed remarkingly excellent in the Olympics by bagging a Silver, our first Olympic medal in 48 years.

The Sunday Times today carried an article which reported how the immediate past President of Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), Mr Choo Wee Khiang has talent-spotted Li Jiawei in China in year 1992 and how he almost brought to Singapore the then teenager Zhang Yining, who was Li's then training mate and now the world's No.1 woman table tennis player if not for China's intervention: 'No, this one you cannot take, as she would be our country's future No. 1'.

Even since 16 years ago, China knew and saw the potential in Zhang Yining. If Singapore has brought in Zhang Yining, can Zhang be still No. 1 and help Singapore bag Gold medals regularly?

Hmm frankly speaking, I believe if that were really the case, Zhang , under a different environment and one which is void of high-calibre players, would not become No.1 today and some player in China would assume that title still with its perennial supply of talents amidst its 1.4 billion population.

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