Forum: Table Tennis Team Needs Local and Foreign Talents, Forum News & Top Stories

Based on recent presentations by Straits Times reporter David Lee, particularly during the last two Olympics, the view that the Singapore Table Tennis Federation (STTA) should once again leverage its foreign talent policy to get players on the national team holds true (Foreign Talent Keys to Medal Wishes, August 4).

However, I think Singapore should not focus only on foreign talent.

I agree that the STTA may need to bring out new foreign talent in order to compete for medals. Players like Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu will undoubtedly have the best chance of getting a shock against the best in the world.

But while foreign talent has managed to achieve the glory of Singapore table tennis on the international stage over the past two decades, that doesn’t mean our local talent should be ignored.

For example, Izaac Quek was at the top of the world ranking of boys under 15 earlier this year. In Tokyo, Clarence Chew was the first locally born male paddler to qualify for the Olympic men’s singles competition and make a commendable performance against players who ranked much higher than him.

This suggests that local talents are able to support themselves and have the potential to face higher level opponents. When such local talents are present on the national team, it can encourage more Singaporeans – especially young people – to practice the sport and strive to play at the top level.

Therefore, integrating both foreign and local capabilities into the core of the national team is a possible solution. Both groups may learn from each other and develop together as a team on their way to represent the people in big competitions.

In any case, something needs to be done to ensure that Singapore’s table tennis standards do not fall further and that we can compete against the best players and countries in the world.

Henry Choong Kun Lin