As far as I am concerned, we have won only 1.
In 1960.
By Tan Howe Liang - a real Singaporean.
One, is good enough.
Even zero also never mind.
It's about sportsmanship; Singapore is for Singaporean!
Someone has made a video about this. Here in Youtube.
6 comments:
I cringed and couldn't bear to watch the telecast of "Singapore winning the silver medal" at the Olympic now taking place.
Due to the lack of financial support, Mr Tan Howe Liang had to pay out of his own pocket to finance his training and expenses.
He won the 1960 Olympic medal out of his love for the sport.
Compared to the present day, where foreign athletes are imported here and promised a reward of S$1 million for winning a gold medal at the Olympics, Mr Tan did not receive any monetary rewards for his effort in 1960.
That is the world of difference.
Help me out here. Singapore only gain independence in 1965 right? 1960 win a medal counted as a country?? Hm...
Wasn't Howe Liang oso China-born?
I think that's not the issue.
I think it is the manner in which they were "poached" PURELY for the purpose of winning a medal.
That said, it is not the fault of the pingpong team either. They did train hard and they did play well, and this shouldn't detract from their performance.
Tan Howe Liang was born in China, but he came to Singapore when he was 4 years old, and grew up here. Also, read the following from the commeng page of the video that ypap recommended:
QUOTE
fujilar: dun see any diff... chinese in sg also originated from China in the past...
wendyneo： fujilar, Lots of diff. When our ancestors came from China, the local government did not lavish tax money on our ancestors to train them to play table tennis, WHILE neglecting the welfare of poor, sick, elderly locals who had been paying tax.
UNQUOTE
I think sg is a self-governing colony since 1959. So, it's still accurate to say he won a medal for Singapore. Just that singapore is not an independent country yet.
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