Showing posts with label Sport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sport. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
YOG mobilisation needed
PETITE, fair-skinned girls from CHIJ St Theresa's Convent were 'volunteered' as ball girls for the beach volleyball tournament last week, and on the first day, the poor girls sure didn't look like they were having fun.
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| TNP ILLUSTRATION: JONATHAN ROBERTS |
Under the midday sun, the Secondary Three girls lugged around sand rakes as tall as them and chased after stray balls in the sand, their school shoes slowly turning brown.
But one week later, on the final day of the competition, they were a different sight.
Now sporting a tan as dark as the athletes themselves, they stood alert at courtside, rakes at the ready.
In their eyes, you saw a sparkle, the kind one sees when young people come to realise they are part of a larger mission.
Off court, the girls wielded digicams like paparazzi, asking autographs from players barely two years their senior.
The players obliged, more than gladly.
For many of these teenage athletes, the CHIJ girls were their first fans.
As the curtains came down on the Asian Youth Games (AYG) last night and Team Singapore set their sights on the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in August next year, this is the image that sticks in my mind.
It hadn't been the 'Perfect Games', not by a long shot. Notwithstanding the H1N1 threat, there were many hiccups, some understandable, others not. (See next report)
But by and large, these are organisational matters that were sorted out as and when the media - like The New Paper - highlighted them in the past two weeks.
Crowds
Other niggling leftover details can be sorted out in due time. What will remain the trickiest problem for the YOG, as it was for the AYG, is the question of how to draw the crowds.
To be sure, the YOG is a different level of competition altogether, one that will certainly attract more interest because of the variety from around the world, not just Asia.
But, just like the AYG, the YOG (from 14 to 26 Aug) will be held during the school term and office hours. There is no other way to reschedule it.
Will schools sacrifice class time to support the YOG?
Will adults take leave and pay to watch young unknowns - albeit possibly future sporting greats - in action?
One can hope that they will be imbued with the spirit of the Olympics, and turn up in force.
But the empty stands at the AYG also point to something else.
Sports can be cruel. For many people, sports is about stars, not spirit.
So while we can hope, YOG's organisers must plan to fill empty stadiums.
At the YOG, media from all over the world, not just Asia, will be here.
First impressions will matter more than ever. Expectations will be high. Singapore beat Moscow to the bid because the International Olympic Committee was impressed with its world-class facilities and the strong support from ordinary citizens.
The sight of empty world-class facilities next August will turn everything into a mockery.
So let's do away with the purism and the romance. Let's get back to the good old Socialist way of doing things.
No spectators? Just bus 'em all in.
It's not like we don't do it already.
As a student, I have been 'volunteered' many times - to support my school team at various competitions, to take part in Racial Harmony Day skits and to participate in the National Day Parade.
Volunteer service
In the army, I have been 'volunteered' for more parades and ceremonies than I care to remember.
In the newsroom, I've been 'volunteered' for talks and dialogues. I even know people who are 'volunteered' to attend election rallies.
The fact is, in Singapore, 'being volunteered' for something that is supposed to be voluntary, has become an accepted part of life.
We'll sigh and shrug, but in the end, like a good citizen, we'll go forth and 'volunteer' our services.
It's not all that bad.
Just like the CHIJ girls, I've often found myself looking back and thinking to myself: I'm glad I went.
When YOG comes around, things shouldn't be left to chance.
The YOG organisers and the Ministry of Education should designate schools, with Government bodies coming forward to fill the stands.
Send in the army boys too. Send in the kindergarten children. Send in the retirees from around Singapore, a number of whom The New Paper already saw in the crowd at the AYG.
The magic, from what I've seen from the CHIJ girls, is that any reluctance goes once you're caught up in the action.
Once you're there, you will cheer, you will become a fan.
I didn't become a football fan because one fine day, I bought tickets to a football match because I had nothing better to do.
It was my dad who took me to my first football match at the National Stadium when I was in Primary Four. Singapore lost 0-1 to Sabah, but I became a Lions fan from then on.
The love of sports spreads this way.
In sports, there is no love at first sight. The fans need to take the non-fans along, teach them the rules, show them what's to scream about.
So to the purists and the romantics, I'll say: Get real.
Go down to Siloso Beach this weekend.
I bet you'll find a few CHIJ girls, hiding in a corner, trying to emulate their new heroes, tentatively smacking a volleyball around.
Lessons from AYG
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| WHERE ARE THE FANS? Empty stadiums were a common sight during the Asian Youth Games. TNP PICTURE: JOYCE LIM |
AYG ORGANISERS initially closed all training sessions to the media, making them closed-door affairs. This made it impossible for media to drum up public interest in the competition, especially with the football preliminaries starting. The New Paper even had to ask foreign team managers themselves for where and when their teams were training, as AYG organisers weren't providing information a day before the competition started. After that story, organisers opened up. SWITCHING of football matches at the last minute at Temasek Polytechnic (and not because of the H1N1 cases at that time), caused confusion among fans who turned up for the wrong games. There was no alert to the media or the public regarding the switches, as early as the day before. At Jurong Junior College, fans turning up, weren't even told that the Hong Kong-Saudi Arabia game had been cancelled due to the four H1N1 cases within the Hong Kong team. Drinks were unavailable at school venues, as water bottles were confiscated to prevent missile launching. There has to be better drinks availability for fans next year. AYG ORGANISERS - including public relattions agency Fulford - took criticism positively from start to end, and genuinely tried not to repeat mistakes. They apologised for the fixture mix-up and took steps for greater transparency, like e-mailing and texting advance notices of rescheduling matches to the media for public announcements. FOUR members of the Brunei contingent were stranded for more than three hours before they could check into their hotels and had to change clothes in a public toilet. They were also not given AYG accreditation passes. AYG organisers said it was due to a miscommunication. SINGAPORE'S Under-14 football team - in their first game against Iran - had no names printed on the back of their jerseys, leaving interested local fans clueless as to the future stars they were supposed to look out for. An FAS spokesman said this was not an oversight, but the coach added that it would have been nice to have names on the jerseys, and some players agreed with The New Paper as well. For the next game against Thailand two days later, the Cubs sported jerseys with their names newly printed. Fans later came to mark Jeffrey Adam Lightfoot and Hanafi Akbar as possible stars of Singapore soccer in the next 10 years. A REPORTER from The New Paper was prevented from speaking to the South Korean players during their training session at Temasek Polytechnic. The team's local liaison officer said that the instructions he had been given, since the start of the tournament, were to direct all media queries to the media centre. The New Paper had to leave the training ground without much of a match preview. This, after the previous policy of barring media from attending training sessions had been scrapped by organisers. Yet another example of miscommunication at the ground level. FOR THE Singapore-Thailand match at Jalan Besar stadium which can hold up to 6,000 people, there were fewer than 500 going by The New Paper's count. Several schools whose students are participating in AYG, hadn't made arrangements for their students to go down to the game venues to watch. Students had to go down to the game venues on their own accord. Singapore Sports School then turned out in droves over the next few days at various events to show support. AYG ORGANISERS claimed that a sell-out crowd of more than 150 spectators watched the first day of the diving finals. But when The New Paper visited the venue later that day, we found only 50 spectators without AYG passes. There was a possibility that those with tickets had failed to turn up. At other events, it took only till the end, over the weekend, when the events saw better crowd turnout. SIX OF 10 schools spoken to had not made any special arrangements for their students to catch the action at the various venues. They cited clashes with the schools' curriculum after the return from school holidays, examinations and fears over the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. As such, the majority of youth were missed from the Games. FEMALE athletes from Bahrain and Kuwait, participating in the 3-on-3 basketball event, were told that they were not allowed to take part while wearing a hijab (headscarf). In total, four athletes - three from Bahrain and one from Kuwait - donning the hijab were not allowed to take the court as they were deemed to be not properly attired. Bahrain's chef-de-misson managed to convince OCA officials to allow them to wear the hijab and play. But in yet another case of miscommunication at the ground level - possibly the AYG's biggest bugbear - this change in rules was not communicated to Kuwait. BAD SAND at the beach volleyball tournaments is unforgiveable if it injures participants. Singapore coach Teo Chiek Shan had to spend three hours at Singapore General Hospital's A&E Department on the night before the Singapore boys' big match against Oman last Friday. He got a nasty cut from a wooden splinter at Court Four. Better sand might have helped Singapore's cause, just as more funding and support would. |
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
WE WILL BE READY BY 2016
THINK table tennis in Singapore, and the names rattled off belong to China-born Singapore citizens like Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei.
They were Singapore's stalwart silver medal-winning team from last year's Beijing Olympics, coming in second to China.
If China boast the cream of the crop in table tennis talent around the world - even with so many countries importing Chinese players - what hope do Singapore stand if they are to challenge China themselves?
The answer lies in Singapore's very own youth team at the Asian Youth Games.
They are all born and bred here.
The quartet of Clarence Chew, 14, Tay Jit Kiat, 14, Isabelle Li, 15, and Chau Hai Qing, 15, won a bronze in the mixed team event last week.
Table tennis will be played again at next year's Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
Commitment
Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president Lee Bee Wah told the media earlier this year, that if this all-Singaporean YOG team continue to show the same amount of commitment and determination - together with support from their parents - they may be ready to represent Singapore at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Overall, three of Singapore's four young paddlers were shown the exit before the singles quarter-finals at the Asian Youth Games (AYG) last week. Isabelle was the only one to reach the singles' quarter-finals.
But our born-and-bred in Singapore players managed to give their stronger Chinese opponents a run for their money.
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When Clarence, was up against China's top world junior - Yin Hang - in Round 16 of the boys' singles, he managed to force the latter to commit a number of unforced errors to take the second set.
Clarence fought hard and managed to catch Hang off-guard with a series of fast smashes. But Hang ultimately nicked the win.
'I won one set. I will try to win more in future,' Clarence told The New Paper.
Singapore's youth team's coach Xu Xiangdong said these young made-in-Singapore players will be ready to represent the country by the 2016 Olympics.
Opportunities
He noted: 'By 2016, our local-born players will have a lot more opportunities.
'With the current system and normal progress and with no major accidents, we will see good results by then. We'll have one or two good players who will be ready to take on the Chinese players.
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'We still have time to groom our players and we will catch up with China.'
Sunday, July 5, 2009
女泳将柯婷文为我国再添金
新加坡体育健儿昨天在首届亚洲青年运动会上继续表现不俗，继前天获得2金3铜后，昨天再进账另五枚奖牌，收获1金4铜。
其中，16岁女泳将柯婷文展现惊人的后劲，在最后关头超越原本领先的韩国对手，勇夺女子200米自由泳金牌。
我国游泳队昨天总共贡献了四枚奖牌。除了柯婷文之外，何如恩、邱湕颖和黄凯伟也在游泳池中增添了三枚铜牌。
新加坡体育学校的短跑健将沙赫里尔则在男子100米决赛中，以11秒13的成绩添加另一枚铜牌。
另一方面，乒乓小将李思韵和周哲宇虽然在混合团体半决赛中以0比2不敌实力强大的中国队，但还是与中华台北分享铜牌。这枚铜牌将在下星期一所有的乒乓项目结束后才颁发。
新加坡亚青运代表团擎旗手柯婷文，昨天首次在游泳赛中亮相，自然成为众人和媒体的焦点。她在女子200米自由泳决赛中碰上实力强盛的韩国泳手金贞慧，在前150米的比赛中一直处于落后劣势。
不过，柯婷文没有忘记游泳队总教练林方育之前的指示，在比赛开始时先保留一些体力，到最后阶段才全速冲刺。果然，柯婷文在家人、队友和现场观众的支持下，最后50米快速前进，最终以1分59秒21夺得我国游泳赛的第二枚金牌，也是我国在整个赛会的第四枚金牌。
柯婷文也凭此成绩改写了这个项目的全国纪录，旧纪录为2分00秒14，是她上个月才创下的。
金贞慧以1分59秒93获银牌，另一韩国选手金瑞英则以2分01秒92获得铜牌。
柯婷文赛后说：“我在最后一程的时候其实觉得有些紧张，幸好队友和新加坡人的支持鼓舞了我。参加今天这场决赛的选手实力都很强，大家都游得很快，都有获胜的机会。
“这枚金牌对我而言非常重要，因为这是我在亚青运的第一场比赛，而且又是我的强项之一。能够夺得金牌，这种感觉真的是太美妙了。”
柯婷文承认，她在赛前并非完全有把握能夺得金牌。她说：“到了热身时，我的感觉才变得好一些。无论如何，现在拿下了第一枚金牌，我有一种如释重负的感觉。”
柯婷文接下来还会参加50米、100米自由泳、4X100米自由泳和混合泳接力，有望继续为我国添加奖牌。
在其他游泳决赛中，何如恩和邱湕颖分别获得了女子和男子50米蛙泳铜牌，而队友黄凯伟随后也在男子100米仰泳决赛中添加另一枚铜牌。
截至昨天为止，我国总共已获得4金9铜，在荣誉榜上暂时排名第六。
男子100米决赛 体校生为我国添铜牌
最后一天的亚青运田径场上继续飘扬起新加坡国旗。在男子100米决赛中，新加坡体育学校的沙赫里尔以11秒13的成绩获得一枚铜牌。尽管他对比自己最好的10秒88慢了0.25秒的成绩不是很满意，还是很高兴能为新加坡赢得荣誉。
离比赛开始还有一段时间，吴沁谕、梁惠欣还有林俊廷就早早地坐在了运动员席上，为队友加油。“你们看好今天哪个队友的比赛？三人几乎是异口同声地回答：沙赫里尔。林俊廷更是把握十足地说，他定能拿到奖牌！
林俊廷参加本届亚青运男子400米赛，获得第六名。与他交谈后，发觉他对沙赫里尔真的很了解，就像他是的手足：“我们都在体育学校读书训练，尽管他是马来人，但我们平时就是很要好的朋友，很谈得来。而现在选手村又住同屋。”
八名选手站在了男子100米的起跑线上，沙赫里尔处在第三道。这是一条紧靠同组实力最强的选手的位置，有压力也有动力。可以说前80米的过程中，他都将压力转化为了动力，几乎与在第五道最后夺冠的日本选手梨元正己并驾齐驱。
只是进入最后冲刺的关键时刻，一直处在第二位的沙赫里尔因体力下降没能保住优势，被第八道的泰国选手彼拉克萨以0.02秒的优势抢走亚军荣誉。对此他有点失望：“本来我可以跑到第二，可能是有点紧张吧。”
而俊廷在看了队友的比赛后，也表达了同样的看法。俊廷说：“赛前沙赫里尔变得很安静，不喜欢跟别人说自己的目标，只想让自己更集中精神。我没有和他 说什么，他到过美国、德国、泰国等国家参加比赛，都能获得前三名，所以他的比赛经验要比我多。不过他对我说自己有一点点的紧张。”
体育学校曹惠玲主任对本报表示，赛前就认为他应该拿第二名。他去年获得过国际田径锦标赛15岁以下组的冠军。本届比赛他的报名成绩仅次于日本选手的10秒65，所以他获得这枚奖牌并不意外。只是他自己肯定不会满意。”
据曹主任介绍，已读中四的沙赫里尔不仅训练刻苦，而且在学习上也非常出色，在学校属于精英。他目前是新加坡最好的短跑选手，大家都对他寄予很高的期望。
而俊廷更是了如指掌地说，沙赫里尔家里还有两个姐姐，他是家中唯一的男孩。父母都非常支持他，只要在本地有他的比赛就会到场观看。
沙赫里尔也很要强，他说会克服困难，下周参加国际青年田径锦标赛进一步锻炼，然后争取参加明年的青奥会和亚运会。
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Lynette bags gold
SWIMMER Lynette Lim bagged the first gold in swimming for Singapore yesterday.
She clocked an impressive 4min 14.25sec for the girls' 400m freestyle final at the Singapore Sports School.
It was more than seven seconds faster than her closest competitor, Benjaporn Sriphanomthorn from Thailand, who clocked 4:21.63 and had to settle for silver.
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Lynette's winning time is close to a four-second improvement from her results in the heats yesterday morning.
The beaming 17-year-old said: 'I really didn't expect to win. I just went in and gave everything.
'Stephanie Au from Hong Kong (who finished third) had previously clocked a much better time than I did .
'I guess I just got lucky.'
Lynette also bettered her own personal-best timing of 4:16.42, set last year.
If 'lucky' is how Lynette describes such a slicing off her personal best, The New Paper wonders how much faster she could have gone if she didn't need any luck.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Singapore bags 2 more AYG golds
Dominant wins for swimmer Lynette Lim and bowling duo of New Hui Fen, Darshini Khrishna
HOSTS Singapore continued their golden run yesterday, a day after winning their first Asian Youth Games (AYG) gold medal.
It snared two more golds with dominant performances from the bowling girls' doubles team of New Hui Fen and Darshini Khrishna, as well as swimmer Lynette Lim.
At the Orchid Country Club late yesterday morning, Hui Fen and Darshini stormed to victory by leading from their first game to the last, beating silver medallists Sathean Tanaprang and Saebe Yanee of Thailand by 101 pinfalls.
Said Hui Fen, who added this gold to her singles gold on Wednesday: "The first game made us confident. We wanted to play our very best so that we would not need to hunt down the first spot."
In the evening, Lynette put up an equally convincing victory in her pet event, the 400m freestyle.
She won in 4min 14.25sec, a staggering 7.38sec faster than second-placed Thai swimmer Benjaporn Sriphanomthorn.
Singapore also added three bronzes from shooter Abel Lim (boys' 10m air rifle), hurdler Inez Leong (girls' 100m hurdles) and the boys' bowling doubles team of Brandon Lee and Christopher Hwang.
Singapore's first gold
BOWLER New Hui Fen clinched Singapore's first gold medal of the Asian Youth Games yesterday.
The pressure was on yesterday at the girls' bowling singles at Orchid Country Club.
The first game that 17-year-old New (above) bowled may have been disconcerting seeing that she only scored 192 pinfalls as compared to the highest score of the 246 by fellow Singaporean Anthea Sow.
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However New didn't give in, she kept a cool head and made an astounding comeback in the following games, scoring strike after strike.
At the end of the six games, New secured Singapore's first gold with a total score of 1,359 pinfalls.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Yao's career threatened by lingering foot injury
Chinese superstar center Yao Ming's broken left foot could be a "career-threatening" injury, the team doctor for the NBA's Houston Rockets told the Houston Chronicle on Monday.
Tom Clanton told the newspaper that the 7-foot-6 giant's decision on what sort of treatment he wants to fix the break could see him miss the entire 2009-2010 NBA season or have the potential to risk his career.
"At this point, the injury has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career threatening," Clanton told the Chronicle.
"One of the things we are trying to get is a consensus opinion on that, to make certain there is no option we are overlooking that would provide an earlier return or would be an option for treatment that he would prefer rather than doing additional surgery."
Yao is planning to meet with several specialists to consider all possible alternatives regarding his fourth bone injury in as many years.
Clanton would not say what his advice would be but said Yao could try again to immobilize the foot to hope the fracture heals on its own.
"I dont think that is necessarily a longshot," Clanton said. "It takes a lot of time. It may be best to take more time. Sometimes that is the best option."
Several previous Yao bone injuries have been solved that way and doctors hopes this one would as well but last week it was learned that the injury has not healed and that Yao would be sidelined indefinitely.
But Clanton said the injury had grown worse instead of improving when examined under a CT scan last week.
Doctors will reexamine Yao to determine if there has been a reduced supply of blood in the area, which would hinder healing.
"The hairline fracture that is present in the previous X-rays shows evidence it has not healed and has extended across the bone," Clanton said.
Surgical options would include inserted a metal pin inside the foot, a bone graft or possibly rebuilding his arch, an option similar to one used on Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas of Lithuania.
"Its more that's what were hoping to avoid but that's certainly a realistic situation given his injury and the way the bone looked on the CT scan," Clanton said. "The fact he is having no symptoms gives us reason for optimism."
Yao suffered the injury in a 108-94 home playoff loss on May 8 against the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers after playing 77 regular-seaon games, the most he had competed in since the 2004-2005 campaing.
Foot and leg injuries hampered Yao in the three prior seasons. He missed 21 games in the 2005-2006 season with an infected left big toe that required surgery and then broke a bone in his left foot four games before the end of the season.
The following season, Yao broke his right leg and missed 32 games. In the 2007-2008 campaign, Yao suffered a left foot stress facture that required surgery and missed 26 games but recovered in time for the Beijing Olympics.
Yao had expected his latest injury to be well on the way to being healed when he was examined last week. Instead, the crack had expanded.
"The findings on the CT were shocking for him and for us," Clanton said. "At this stage he is having no symptoms or physical signs. He has no tenderness, no swelling, no redness. When he came back in, he was feeling like everything was perfect, and he would start rehabilitation and get ready to play.
"Sometimes the findings on an X-ray or CT dont necessarily mean that is exactly what you treat. You dont treat a CT scan. You treat a patient. We are looking for every reason to teat this on clinical findings, but dont want to put him at risk for a greater fracture.
"What we are looking at is a discrepancy in the clinical findings on him and what he tells us, and the findings on the diagnostic imaging studies that tell us what the bone looks like."
Yao had said when the injury happened that he did not think it as serious as some of his prior ones and the club had said he was expected to recover in two or three months.
The team had nothing to say regarding fears Yao might never play again.
"We are not going to comment until we have all the facts," said Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who said Yao's status had no impact upon the Rockets' decisions for last week's draft.
Yao, the top selction in the 2002 NBA Draft, is set to make 16 million dollars next season and he has an option to retgurn in the 2010-20111 season for 17 million dollars.
Losing Yao could be crippling for the Rockets, who are already set to be without star guard Tracy McGrady for at least the first half of next season after left knee surgery.
Yao's uncertain future could have a major impact on what the Rockets do in the free agent market, which opens next month.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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