Not Born in Singapore
Page 18
In 2012, she clinched a bronze medal at the London Olympics, ending Singapore’s 52-year dry spell. Ranked eighth in the world then, Feng beat world number six Kasumi Ishikawa in a swift 25 minutes. She was crowned the Sportswoman of the Year for the second time in 2013. In an interview with Chinese broadcaster CCTV after the Olympics, Feng said she was satisfied with her performance but would continue to achieve more, especially in the singles game. She said she expected to do better at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Coach Jing Junhong said Feng’s strength as a player is her ability to handle stress, which was evident at the 2015 Asian Cup. Feng trumped her arch-rival, Liu Shiwen, to whom she had lost six out of their previous nine meetings. Though she was not confident of winning, Feng held her ground during the game and pressured the world number three into losing two sets to four.
Despite her toughness on the court, Feng has been suffering from chronic knee problems and admits that she does get anxious before an international game. In the 2015 Southeast Asian Games held in Singapore in June, Feng was eliminated from the table tennis singles after she suffered a shock 3-1 loss to a Thai player. She cut a downcast figure afterwards but fought her way back to help claim the gold medal during the women’s team event against Thailand.
Feng’s fans continue to support her. She boasts over one million followers on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo. Her Weibo user profile has just one line: “Love life, but live without vanity.” In Feng’s words, that means living life to the fullest, and doing so peacefully.
References
Ali Kasim, “Paddlers Return to Heroes’ Welcome,” The New Paper, August 11, 2012.
“Exclusive interview with Feng Tianwei, table tennis bronze medalist,” CCTV, July 8 2012,
http://english.cntv.cn/program/sportsscene/20120807/118466.shtml
“Feng Tianwei,” Table Tennista, accessed August 2015,
http://tabletennista.com/player/feng-tianwei/
Say Heng, “Zhou: Feng still S’pore best player.” The New Paper, May 21, 2012.
“女乒"海外军团"冯天薇: 以身为新加坡人而自豪,” 中国新闻网, 2010年06月02日,
http://www.chinanews.com/ty/ty-pyw/news/2010/06-02/2318064.shtml
Interview with Feng Tianwei in May 2015.
Feng Tianwei
China, b.1986
Jing Junhong
Three-time Sportswoman of the Year
China-born Jing Junhong has won many table tennis accolades for Singapore, becoming a three-time Sportswoman of the Year. Today, she is a coach at the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), grooming the next generation of champions.
China’s number three table tennis player never thought of emigrating to Singapore—until she met the love of her life. In 1988, Jing Junhong fell in love with Singapore paddler, Loy Soo Han, when he went to Shanghai for training. After marrying Loy, she came to Singapore in 1992. Today, Jing is the head coach of the national women’s team.
Jing wanted to be a stay-at-home mother. That was not to be the case. After moving here, the first game she played for Singapore was the Vietnam Golden Racket Championships in 1992. “At that time I thought to just try since Vietnam is so close,” Jing said. Despite not having competed for the past year, Jing nailed a gold medal by trumping the best players from Korea and Hong Kong. Taking up her team-mates’ advice, she did not hang up her bat and led two young players to the 1993 World Table Tennis Championships in Sweden.
In Gothenburg, Jing scored a stunning win against the world number one, Deng Yaping, who had until then an unbeatable track record. Her triumph made waves and rekindled Jing’s passion for the sport. She said, “People started asking ‘Where is Singapore?’ and ‘Does Singapore have a table tennis team?’” Curious to find out about the player who beat Deng, Juan Antonio Samaranch, the 7th president of the International Olympics Committee, stopped by the STTA to meet Jing when passing through Singapore. The STTA was in bare bones then. Most of the players played part-time and the staff were made up of volunteers. Jing was the only full-time player. But the camaraderie and enthusiasm of the players were infectious. “I thought I could lead the team to do better,” said Jing, who obtained Singapore citizenship in 1994. And that was how she set her heart on playing table tennis for Singapore. The Singapore team recorded one of its finest results at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Glasgow in 1997. Jing won gold at the individual and doubles games at a time when “no Singapore team had won the team event at an international competition”, she said.
Jing was entirely devoted to playing the game. Almost immediately after she gave birth to her son, Darren, in 1998, she rejoined the team to train for the Southeast Asian Games, which was to be held a year later. Instead of boarding with her team-mates, which competitive players do when preparing for major competitions, Jing shuttled between Changi, where they trained, and Hougang, where she lived. She insisted on going home to be with Darren even though training sessions started at 9am and ended at 7pm. “I really regretted coming back to play at that time. I’d rather have stayed home to look after my child,” the veteran paddler said. Once, overwrought by the stress of the upcoming Games and with Darren taking ill, Jing sharply rebutted her coach, who had insisted on extra training hours. She said, “I need to go home now, but I will win that gold medal!” True enough, she won gold in the women’s team and doubles events at the 1999 Southeast Asian Games. Given the achievements she had attained thus far, many were hoping for the long-awaited medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. But Jing missed out on the bronze medal and came in fourth.
In 2009, Jing decided to stay on with the team as a coach. She said, “Without someone to lead them, they don’t know what they can achieve. When they are under a lot of stress, I tell them my experiences and they become more confident.” Jing’s players recognise her commitment and sacrifices. National paddler Feng Tianwei said, “She has a family to look after, but she still travels with us for competitions.” Jing’s son, Darren, a student at Republic Polytechnic, is in the national Intermediate Squad. When he was younger, he did not want Jing to coach him, but “now he has realised that his mother is in fact quite a good coach,” Jing joked. To honour her achievements, Jing was given the Sportswoman of the Year thrice—in 1997, 1998 and 2000. Jing’s moniker is “queen of table tennis”, but she says categorically that the title is “out-of-date” as she is no longer competing. Her focus is on grooming the next generation of table tennis stars. During the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, Jing was able to lead paddlers Feng Tianwei and Isabelle Li to win the team event even though they were beaten in the singles earlier. Under Jing’s guidance, the women’s table tennis team is currently ranked third in the world.
References
May Chen, “Coach Jing Plans for Quiet Life but Ends up in hot Seat,” The Straits Times, October 28, 2010.
Interview with Jing Junhong in May 2015.
Jing Junhong
China, b.1968
Ronald Susilo
Flag Bearer for the Nation
Much of the renewed interest in badminton in Singapore today is due to the exploits of Indonesia-born Ronald Susilo, who beat the world number one player, Lin Dan of China, in the opening match of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Indonesian-born Ronald Susilo began playing badminton at the age of seven, first for the Pelita Jaya Club, and then for the Jaya Raya Badminton Club, which was one of Indonesia’s best at that time. During a 1993 competition in Singapore, Susilo, who was representing Jaya Raya, was spotted by a former student from the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), who courted him to play badminton in Singapore. Susilo’s parents encouraged him to come here as they thought Singapore had a better education system. At 14, Susilo arrived here alone.
The country’s orderliness and cleanliness impressed him. Though Susilo had attended a sports school in Indonesia where he was a boarder, this was the first time he was away from his family for months. He felt homesick. Susilo quipped that he was “
a bit spoiled” as he is the youngest of four children, and had three elder sisters “fussing over him”. He added, “My family was afraid that I would fall into bad company.”
Adjusting to life in ACS(I) took a while for Susilo, who spoke little English when he first arrived. During most of the classes, he simply answered “yes” or “no” to his teachers’ questions. Over time his English improved with help from his teachers and friends.
During an interschool match in 1997, Ronald was spotted by the Singapore Badminton Association and was invited to join the national team. He declined as he was preparing for his ‘O’-level examinations and had planned to further his studies in Australia. But the Asian financial crisis affected his family badly, forcing him to shelve his plans. Susilo became a full-time player, dominating the national scene throughout his playing career.
Susilo progressed to the international level, and four years later, had his first breakthrough when he made the semi-finals of the Dutch Open. The highlight of his career came at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he had the honour of being Singapore’s flag bearer. That was not the only highlight of the Olympics for Susilo. Many sports fans would remember his storied victory against the world number one player, Lin Dan. Susilo had beaten the China great despite battling an injury to his right shoulder. This historic achievement and making the quarter-finals of the Games earned him the Sportsman of the Year title in 2005.
Susilo remembers clinching the Japan Open Championship title in 2004 as one of his career highlights. This win propelled him to the top six in the world. Since then, he has been saddled with injuries but was able to win silver at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.
Susilo retired in 2010, but in May 2014, he announced that he wanted to stage a comeback at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. He explained his decision in an interview with Yahoo! Sports. “The Games are held on home ground and with my presence as a senior player, I hope to support the team and guide my juniors,” he said. But Susilo sustained a muscle tear in his hip and was not able to compete in the Games.
Now, he runs a badminton academy where he keeps his eyes peeled for young talented players who are passionate about the game. He tells their parents that one can make a career out of playing badminton. There are now more youngsters aiming to play competitive badminton, and the number of players in the national team has grown from a small outfit in the 1990s to 26 in 2015, according to the Singapore Badminton Association. This is largely Susilo’s doing—he achieved several firsts for Singapore and has revived interest in the sport.
References
“About Ronald Susilo,” Ronald Susilo Sports Enterprise, accessed April 2015,
http://ronaldsusilo.com.sg/about-me.php
Ian De Cotta, “Susilo out, as Badminton Turns to Young Ones for SEA Games,”
TODAY, April 16, 2015.
Justin Ong, “Singapore badminton: Who can fill Ronald Susilo void?”
Yahoo! Sports, June 16, 2013.
Koh Yizhe, “It has always been my dream to set up an academy,” Red Sports, June 11, 2010, available from https://www.redsports.sg/2010/06/11/ronald-susilo-interview-1/
Interview with Ronald Susilo in April 2015.
Ronald Susilo
Indonesia, b.1979
Tao Li
Petite Pool Diva
China-born Tao Li moved to Singapore in 2003 for its education system but ended up distinguishing herself with her amazing exploits in the pool. Tao, who was ranked top four in the world at her best, became the first Singaporean swimmer to qualify for an Olympic final, leaving her indelible mark as one of Singapore’s iconic names in sports.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics finals, national swimmer Tao Li looked diminutive standing next to her
competitors. Singapore had never been represented at that stage of the games until then. As Tao dived into the pool for the 100m butterfly—her pet event—she emerged fifth, clocking 57.99 seconds, only 0.74 seconds shy of clinching the bronze medal. A few days earlier, Tao had finished the Olympic semi-finals with a timing of 57.54 seconds, placing her among the world’s fastest butterfly swimmers and Asia’s finest. This is also her personal best, which thrust her to the fourth position on the world
ranking charts.
These achievements were extraordinary given that five years earlier, the 1.6m petite swimmer whose specialty is the butterfly stroke had been rejected by China’s national swimming team partly because of her height. In 2008, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong praised Tao Li for her achievements at the Olympics. He said, “She may be smaller, but, like a little red dot, she punched above
her weight.”
Born to parents who are swimming coaches, Tao took to swimming like a duck to water. When she was one, she was already playing in the pool; at five, she could swim 25 metres without a float. Tao knew she loved the sport when “I would feel sad that I couldn’t make it to training,” she said. She was ranked the top swimmer in her hometown of Hubei, in China, and among her peers nationwide. Though rejected by China’s national swimming team in 2001 because of her height, Tao said she was “not devastated”. In 2003, at her mother’s insistence, Tao moved to Singapore.
Her mother, Li Yan, had already moved to Singapore to work as a swimming coach two years earlier. Speaking about her decision to bring Tao to Singapore, Li said in a 2007 The Straits Times interview, “I knew Tao Li needed an education because an athlete's life span is very short.”
It was hard going for the teenager at first.
In 2004, at 14, Tao enrolled as a Primary Five student at Queenstown Primary School. “Everything was taught in English but at that time, I did not even know how to write ABC,” Tao quipped. The language barrier made it difficult for her to make friends. “While everyone was out watching movies, I stayed at home because I had no friends,” Tao said.
Having a hectic schedule made socialising more difficult and her loneliness more acute. Training would start at 5am and when classes ended at 2pm, Tao had to attend another round of training till 6pm. But her day did not end there. Tuition came after dinner and would last till 10pm. “But I hated—and still hate—studying,” Tao said in a mix of English and Singlish. Things here were different compared to China. The Singapore system’s emphasis on academic excellence means that studies cannot take a backseat. Tao was worn out from juggling both and recalled falling asleep during Chinese classes, only to be reprimanded by her Chinese teacher. Her rebuttal was, “Why can’t I sleep since I can answer all the questions?”
Tao yearned to return to China. But things changed for the better when her Primary School Leaving Examination results got her admitted into the Singapore Sports School in 2006. There, she made firm friends with other budding sportspeople who understood the rigours of combining training with classroom studies. Tao became a Singapore citizen in 2005 and soon began representing Singapore at international meets. At the Southeast Asian Games that year she won five medals. The plucky teenager went on to win Singapore’s first gold medal in the Doha Asian Games the following year.
Tao has achieved other firsts—in the Berlin leg of the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup, she set a new record of 56.28 seconds for the shortcourse butterfly, beating the previous timing of 56.34 seconds attained six years earlier.
Behind the glint of the medals is hard work. But her success has drawn an equal measure of praise and flak. There are voices which harp on how she was not born Singaporean, while others applaud her for her hard work and success. In a 2008 media interview, Tao had this to say to the former group, “Look, if I was really here for the money, do you think I would have bothered with studying? I would have just saved myself the trouble and focused on training, which is really hard without having to worry about school work.”
After graduating from the Singapore Sports School, Tao enrolled at SIM Global But she postponed her studies after the first semester to concentrate on swimming. Her results have not disappointed—in the June 2015 Southeast Asian Games held in Singapore, Tao won gold in all five events
she competed in, exactly as she had aimed for. Tao said candidly that “winning feels good” and that she is proud to “fly the Singapore flag”. Competing with the home crowd watching was unforgettable for her.
Since the Southeast Asian Games, Tao has gone back to studying full-time. She is majoring in business and is due to graduate by the end 2016. Though studying is her focus now, Tao is not hanging up her goggles yet. She wants to win competitions and is setting up a swimming school to groom the young who can do the country proud. They will be teens—for young swimmers peak at around the ages of 14 and 15 and that is also when their talent is spotted. Asked if she would compete in the 2016 Olympics, Tao would only say, “Only if I’m confident of bringing a medal home for Singapore.”
References
“23rd Southeast Asian Games result,” PinoySwimming, January 26, 2015.
Cubby Leong, “Two Women who Don't Know Defeat; Li Yan, Daughter Tao Li are Grappling With Many Issues, but They are Determined to Live the Dream,” TODAY, March 3, 2007.
Jeremy Au Yong, “New Community Leadership Award,” The Straits Times, August 17, 2008.
Les Tan, “Beijing Olympics Update: Swimmer Tao Li Comes in Fifth in 100m Butterfly Final,” Red Sports, August 11, 2008, https://www.redsports.sg/2008/08/11/tao-li-final-swimming/
Nicholas Fang, “No Grunts, Only Giggles; Getting to Know This Athlete—Away From the Swimming Pool,” TODAY, October 4, 2008.
Interview with Tao Li in August 2015.
Tao Li
China, b.1990