Olympic council should review STTA's emotive snub

Olympic council should review STTA's emotive snub

LEADERSHIP in sports is as important as it is in the corporate or political arenas.

Just days into the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) presidency, Ms Lee Bee Wah showed a lack of sensitivity, not only to the Singapore National Olympic Council but also to Singapore with her untimely outburst.

Ms Lee has again shown to her officials and players that she is the boss and their fates are in her hands, that even the coach who nurtured Singapore's Olympic silver medal team can go nowhere without her support.

The fact is that coach Liu Guodong managed to bring out the best in a team to enable Singapore to win the Olympic silver medal. If this is not sufficient to win him the Coach of the Year award, if not the Coach of the Decade, then whoever won before him is a mockery.

We followed the STTA saga from Beijing Olympics to Singapore with great disappointment. We have shown to all sports officials, Singaporean and foreign, that to move forward, they must learn to kowtow to power.

According to Ms Lee: 'Results are not the only criterion.' She may wish to know that results are the No. 1 criterion. She has erred and her judgment appears to be emotive in snubbing coach Liu.

I suggest that the Singapore National Olympic Council review the nomination process, overrule the STTA's decision not to support Liu and restore confidence in the local sports scene by giving Liu his due reward, Coach of the Year.

Han Jit Kwang

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