Majority say foreign talent is the way to go

   
I am for foreign talent if they can also push our local athletes to a higher level.

I read with disappointment the number of discouraging reports about Singaporeans not being proud of Feng Tianwei for winning the bronze at the recent

Olympics because she is not a "local".

We must all agree that despite the many promises of our local athletes, all of them have failed when it really mattered.

I think one of the main reasons is that we do not really have a sporting culture in Singapore.

Yes, we have the Singapore Sports School, but focus there is also on academic excellence, rather than sporting excellence alone.

I watched Feng during the Olympics and was hugely impressed by her determination and her never-say-die spirit.

Sure, detractors will say that she was playing for the $250,000 carrot dangled by the SNOC but I choose to believe in what I saw - a woman representing

Singapore and playing her heart out for the country.

If Singapore wants to establish itself as a sporting nation, getting foreign talent is the way to go.

- Deborah Kong

Accept the universal reality of engaging FT

FOREIGN talent is the way to go for Singapore if we want to achieve and excel in sports, arts, sciences and music etc. for the following reasons:

1. Our small population will get smaller and smaller because of the declining birth rate. With a smaller population, it will be more difficult to develop

talent.

2. Most, if not all Singaporean parents, do not encourage their children to pursue professional sports as a career. So how can we groom local talent?

Generally parents emphasise careers that provide material gain.

3. Singapore can make good use of the screening and training infrastructure of countries such as China to attract budding talent.

After they have received the fundamental training, let them bloom in Singapore. Singapore's attractiveness as a place to live will draw FT.

4. Most important, as long as the heart, soul and mind of the foreign talent is for Singapore after he or she has settled in, it does not matter where they

came from originally.

5. With globalisation, it is not only Singapore attracting foreign talent, every country in the world also seems to be doing this.

So let's wake up and accept reality.

- Patrick Chia

We celebrated Feng's triumph

I WAS down with high fever, watching the table tennis match between Feng Tianwei and Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa with my two children.

Every time Feng won a point and released a yell, my two kids jumped up and down, with my daughter also doing a victory dance from the living area to her

room.

In the end, the triumph was fantastic and gave us joy.

Feng is an imported foreign talent. A medal won by a foreign import is for Singapore.

Whatever awards won during that individual's representation as a Singapore citizen belongs to Singapore.

When he or she flies the Singapore flag, that's the country he or she is representing at that point in time.

I respect and applaud Feng for her passionate and arduous fight in the sport she loves and for the country she represents.

So stop complaining, Singaporeans.

- Nigel Gan

Yes, and no...

IS FOREIGN talent the way?

Yes, if they stay here long enough to adapt and speak English or are groomed from young. No, if you want to focus on our training systems as well as coaches

to further enhance the competitiveness of the locals.

- Jamil Pungot

What about grooming locals?

I AM against pursuing Foreign Talent (FT) to represent the Republic in local and overseas competitions.

It is a waste of public funds to groom FT.

What is the point of having the Singapore Sports School (SSS) when most of the time the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and other sporting

associations focus on FT to boost their medal chances in competitions.

The SSS graduates have little chance of competing with the FT who receive great support, and train and play full time.

Why can't Singapore focus on locals as do Malaysia and Thailand?

A Thai girl lost in the quarter-final against a Chinese player, but her effort made the Thais proud. I will be proud if we have such a player.

What is so great about Feng Tianwei's bronze-medal triumph?

She is a product of very strong support from the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) who use much of their funds to develop FT.

In a report in The New Paper, we read that in the STTA stable are five Chinese FTs waiting to take over from Feng and company.

Where is the talk about grooming local talent?

- Daniel Chan

It's a shame...

I STRONGLY feel that it's a shame to use foreign talent to gain glory for Singapore.

They may be citizens, but only on paper. They are not truly Singaporean.

- Cheong Koon Guan