Enlightenment
Monday, August 25, 2008
Okay. Let's see.. I've been enlightened about the previous issue I blogged about by my mom and brother.
Maybe there are other underlying reasons that prompted Lee Bee Wah to make the decision that she had. We wouldn't know, would we? We only know the issue from the reports and perhaps, the perspectives of the reporters. It may be biased and one-sided. It is not up to us to say what she did is right or wrong 'cos we do not have the full picture of what's going on. And she doesn't have to defend herself (doing more may let others feel as if she's trying to find reason to defend her actions) and account to us on why she made the decision to sack the team manager. She has no obligations to, does she? She just has to answer to the relevant athorities (or whoever?) for her actions.
It's like 杀一儆百. In future tournaments and games, there'll almost definitely be a coach present for every player.
And my brother was like telling me that actually, the team manager's and head coach's actions of not being present for Gao Ning's match can be seen as them belittling the men's team. It's like thinking that they have no hope of getting us a medal, so instead we should focus all our attention on the girls since they have a relatively better chance of winning a medal. Both the women and men worked hard and so we shouldn't be according special privileges to the women. All should be treated equally.
Hmms.. what they said were really insightful. There's more to it than meets the eye.
I just wished she had handled it with more tact.
I still am looking forward to some clarification on the matter.
**amoi** XD
9:11 PM
Major disappointment
I really am looking forward to the clarification from STTA, and I hope it comes soon. They more they delay in clarifying things up, the more people will be inclined to believe that the decisions were made because of the "Gao Ning incident", which supposedly wasn't the case.
Of course, I can sympathize with Gao Ning about the absence of a coach at such a crucial time. It must have been very demoralising for him, especially when he trained so hard for it. But, I feel that we cannot put the blame wholly on the the team manager and the head coach. And I thought Lee Bee Wah was being kinda ungracious. In MY opinion, she's like a green horn in dealing with such issues, no experience in sports management, and having absolutely no clue on how and when is an appropriate time to reveal her decisions (which I dont't agree with), in which case, I think the position should go to a more capable and experienced person. I feel that she's not acting like what a 'president' should be. She's not supportive and encouraging enough, if not totally not, caring only about the "real" players out there competing and whom have chances of helping us get a medal or two. She forgot totally about the roles that other key players play to make a team successful. Without the guidance and support of people like the head coach and manager, the Singapore Flag may not even have the chance to fly high at the recently concluded 2008 Beijing Olympics. We wouldn't have been able to feel the pride we felt when Feng Tianwei won the crucial game to send the Singapore team to the finals. I wouldn't have been able to feel the warm fuzzy feeling inside me when I saw the many schoolmates who gathered together after school to catch the semi-finals match in school, cheering the team on, and finally screaming and clapping with joy when we defeated the South Koreans. It's like she doesn't understand team dynamics, the kind of team-spirit and trust that need to be built and be present in order for a team to excel. Team-spirit is a very hard thing to build, and it can collapse easily.
To announce such a decision so soon after getting our FIRST medal in FORTY EIGHT long years, it's like casting a dark cloud over our achievements at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We have waited so long for the medal and when it finally is in our hands, a decision has to be made to take some shine off the win. We should be basking in happiness about the win, and if it really has to be made, I agree with what Mr Zainudin Nordin has said, that 'I think we could have celebrated it first, and then found ways to resolve the issue.' And I totally agree with Singapore chef de mission to the Beijing Games Dr. Tan Eng Liang about what he said - 'If the STTA president wanted to act further, the decent thing to do would have been to conduct an inquiry.
'It would have been the proper thing to do, given that she has been in the sport for only over a month, with an inexperienced committee.'
We are sending a message to others that we are only concerned with results. No results? Out you go. And even if you've contributed to the success of one, but may have hicupped in another, we are a unforgiving lot of people, and out you go too. And will it be the case for athletes too?
We should be recognising the contributions and efforts of the head coach and team manager.
**amoi** XD
7:02 PM
