Singapore's History in the 1950s and 1960s as a Regional and International Badminton Power the 50s and 60s. The Thomas Cup and All-England winners were born in China and Singapore's only gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and only silver medal at the Olympics were also won by Chinese sportsmen Chua Phung Kim respectively and Tan Howe Liang. The class of Singaporean sportsmen of the 1960s who enjoyed great sporting success initially arose in countries that included India, Malaysia, Great Britain and others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay But since those golden days, Singapore has evolved to establish its own identity. Nowadays, even with the influx of foreign-born people taking up Singaporean citizenship, only those born and raised in Singapore are perceived as true Singaporeans. Recently, there has been a lot of publicity about Singapore doing well in the sporting arena. . Li Jiawei, Jing Junhong, Li Li and Ronald Susilo, all foreign talents recruited to play under the banner of the Crescent and Stars, are some who have raised the ante for Singapore sports. These successes have also sparked a national debate on the recruitment of foreign talent and Singapore's reliance on foreign talent for sporting success. And yes, justifications for inculcating foreigners into Team Singapore have been put forward by various strata of the Singapore sporting community, but Singaporeans remain divided on this issue. The most widely heard justification is that sporting talent from around the world is courted, transferred and cultivated domestically. borders and the introduction of foreign talent into sports is a global phenomenon practiced by many countries. These countries are in fact very supportive of the idea of foreign players representing their country in sport and even rejoice in their victories in a very passionate and intimate way. It is even believed that such movements are inevitable in the sports arena. Many therefore believe that it is justifiable for Singapore to also support and accept such ideas. In support of this claim, the fact that half of the 1998 French football team is made up of Chinese immigrants and former champions who wear the state colors of European countries in table tennis is usually cited. The claim that most of the players who won France's 1998 World Cup were not French by birth should be taken with a grain of salt. The undisclosed fact is that in most players not born in France, most of them had lived in France or French colonies all their lives. These players were in fact trained and nurtured by the country for many years before they could represent the nation and not simply bought or brought in to represent the country. Another argument that emerges is that Singapore has always drawn on foreign talent in other areas to strengthen its economic competitiveness and therefore sport is just a logical extension of what is already happening in other sectors. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan also said Team Singapore must exercise flexibility and innovation to become a sporting power in Asia and compared the situation to Singapore Inc, which did so for the economy through foreign talent. But should Singapore jump on the bandwagon of recruiting foreign talent to win accolades at international sporting events? In general, sports and economics are very distantin the minds and hearts of Singaporeans. In Singapore, sport is equated with national pride and national identity. It would therefore take a huge paradigm shift to see a goal scored by Egmar Goncalves; a Brazilian-turned-Singaporean approached a French banker and struck a deal for DBS. The image of Fandi Ahmad or Ang PengSiong delivering the goods is felt with more pride and intensity. Therefore, the analogy between sports and economics and the inclusion of foreign talent as an extension of the prevailing policies of incorporating foreign talent does not necessarily justify foreigners playing for Team Singapore. Limitation – Small population base Another important response from major sports agencies is directly linked to the size of Singapore's population. It is often argued that Singapore's small population and limited talent pool lack the depth and diversity needed to emerge world champions such as China, the United States and even Malaysia. So, to overcome this problem, Singapore needs to tap into foreign talent to expand its sporting talent pool. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's words that foreign talent is the "key to Singapore's future", as Singapore's small population cannot produce enough talent, are widely used as an obvious shield. A team playing to its strengths is an important factor in any successful sport. squad. Shouldn't this translate into a nation's success in sports? Denmark and Sweden are relatively small countries with small populations, but have achieved excellent results in badminton and table tennis respectively. Singapore should therefore take a narrower approach and focus on the relative strength of its population and concentrate on sports such as swimming, athletics, bowling and football rather than dabbling in acquiring success in many sporting disciplines by acquiring foreign talent. How many would have forgotten the deeds of Denmark; a country with a small population, in the 1992 European Championships? It has always been emphasized that foreign talent brings with them skills and experience that our local players lack and which they can learn from thus creating a more competitive and dynamic sporting environment in Singapore. The recruitment of coaches and technical directors in the respective sport is also justified to add invaluable quality to the sports scene. It is agreed that these foreign talents contribute to increasing the quality of local sports, but our argument is that these foreign talents should be brought in as sparring partners to play or train with locals rather than represent the nation. This will help local and youth development. A great example is Singapore's Tan Paey Fern, the only Singapore-born table tennis player who managed to get two bronze medals thanks to "her regular training and sparring sessions with her Chinese-born teammates ". Another cause for concern about these advantages of foreign talent is the phenomenon that seems related to the influx of foreign imports representing the premature death of local sportspeople's sporting careers; with the usual excuse of other commitments, studies and decreasing interests cited for these retirements. Tay Paey Fern, Fatimah Kumin-Lim and Patrick Lau are just some of the names that come to mind on this topic. The sad truth behind these "cover excuses" is that local sportspeople are losing their faith in the system. and are expelled from the sports system. These local sporting heroes have struggled their entire lives to reach the pinnacle of local sporting excellence in their respective fields and are then effortlessly eliminated byforeign challengers. In this world where the fittest survive, it makes logical sense to play someone good and expensively recruited more often, but surely there is no golden rule not to protect locally born and bred sportsmen and women who have served this nation with pride and altruism over the years. Furthermore, Like our table tennis team, if half or three-quarters of the national team were "packed full of sardines" with imports, it would realistically dash the dreams of many budding local talents of representing their place of birth. This vicious cycle could help motivate parents even more to discourage their children from taking up sports and will ultimately lead to a mass death of local sporting talent. Even the idea of recruiting foreign talent to coach and coach technical roles does not necessarily mean success. Although Douglas Moore and Ron Hoppe did a great job as coaches for the football and bowling teams, whatever Jan Poulsen and Ken Worden did for the football team was contrary to the term "sports success." In hindsight, technical expertise taken on a consultative basis with systems put in place for local coaches and technical directors to leverage this experience would better serve the interest of the nation. Singapore – A country based on meritocracy Some sections of society believe that Singapore has no special passion or skill in sports unlike medium-sized countries like Australia and Malaysia. Since Singapore is a country based on meritocracy, studies and career are considered more important for Singaporeans. Therefore, Singaporeans devote most of their time and energy primarily to getting a good degree and making a living, with little time for sport, except perhaps watching it. Parents are often skeptical about their children's involvement in sports as they see no future in them. The current behavior of giving sports a backseat in Singapore is changing, albeit slowly. Singapore has evolved from a third world country to a first world country and with this wealth comes the need for self-actualization and potential fulfillment. Recent trends suggest that young Singaporeans are willing to put aside their studies to dive headfirst into the sea of sports to realize how far they can go. This paradigm shift nullifies the claim that Singaporeans are moving away from sports. The newly formed Singapore Sports School is an exemplary model for demonstrating changing values, attitudes and priorities in the lives of Singaporeans. Singapore's strong financial strength is another positive factor that has been cited for recruiting foreign talent. The deep government coffers that provide sports agencies with seed money therefore increase their ability to attract foreign talent to represent Singapore. Since most of these foreign talents are paid relatively little in their home country, sports officials say this is an attractive alternative for nurturing champions. It is conceivable that these foreign talents are paid relatively less, but the bigger picture reveals that these foreign talents don't come cheap either. It is really not fair and justifiable to spend taxpayers' money on a $25,000 a month salary from government coffers for Jan Poulsen, the former national football coach. It seems to make more sense to invest our money on our own people rather than on mercenaries who offer their service to whoever offers the highest price. The respective sports agencies also say that what they are doing is shortening the necessary learning curve.

Topic > Singapore's History in the 1950s and 1960s as a Regional and International Badminton Power the 50s and 60s. The Thomas Cup and All-England winners were born in China and Singapore's only gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and only silver medal at the Olympics were also won by Chinese sportsmen Chua Phung Kim respectively and Tan Howe Liang. The class of Singaporean sportsmen of the 1960s who enjoyed great sporting success initially arose in countries that included India, Malaysia, Great Britain and others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay But since those golden days, Singapore has evolved to establish its own identity. Nowadays, even with the influx of foreign-born people taking up Singaporean citizenship, only those born and raised in Singapore are perceived as true Singaporeans. Recently, there has been a lot of publicity about Singapore doing well in the sporting arena. . Li Jiawei, Jing Junhong, Li Li and Ronald Susilo, all foreign talents recruited to play under the banner of the Crescent and Stars, are some who have raised the ante for Singapore sports. These successes have also sparked a national debate on the recruitment of foreign talent and Singapore's reliance on foreign talent for sporting success. And yes, justifications for inculcating foreigners into Team Singapore have been put forward by various strata of the Singapore sporting community, but Singaporeans remain divided on this issue. The most widely heard justification is that sporting talent from around the world is courted, transferred and cultivated domestically. borders and the introduction of foreign talent into sports is a global phenomenon practiced by many countries. These countries are in fact very supportive of the idea of foreign players representing their country in sport and even rejoice in their victories in a very passionate and intimate way. It is even believed that such movements are inevitable in the sports arena. Many therefore believe that it is justifiable for Singapore to also support and accept such ideas. In support of this claim, the fact that half of the 1998 French football team is made up of Chinese immigrants and former champions who wear the state colors of European countries in table tennis is usually cited. The claim that most of the players who won France's 1998 World Cup were not French by birth should be taken with a grain of salt. The undisclosed fact is that in most players not born in France, most of them had lived in France or French colonies all their lives. These players were in fact trained and nurtured by the country for many years before they could represent the nation and not simply bought or brought in to represent the country. Another argument that emerges is that Singapore has always drawn on foreign talent in other areas to strengthen its economic competitiveness and therefore sport is just a logical extension of what is already happening in other sectors. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan also said Team Singapore must exercise flexibility and innovation to become a sporting power in Asia and compared the situation to Singapore Inc, which did so for the economy through foreign talent. But should Singapore jump on the bandwagon of recruiting foreign talent to win accolades at international sporting events? In general, sports and economics are very distantin the minds and hearts of Singaporeans. In Singapore, sport is equated with national pride and national identity. It would therefore take a huge paradigm shift to see a goal scored by Egmar Goncalves; a Brazilian-turned-Singaporean approached a French banker and struck a deal for DBS. The image of Fandi Ahmad or Ang PengSiong delivering the goods is felt with more pride and intensity. Therefore, the analogy between sports and economics and the inclusion of foreign talent as an extension of the prevailing policies of incorporating foreign talent does not necessarily justify foreigners playing for Team Singapore. Limitation – Small population base Another important response from major sports agencies is directly linked to the size of Singapore's population. It is often argued that Singapore's small population and limited talent pool lack the depth and diversity needed to emerge world champions such as China, the United States and even Malaysia. So, to overcome this problem, Singapore needs to tap into foreign talent to expand its sporting talent pool. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's words that foreign talent is the "key to Singapore's future", as Singapore's small population cannot produce enough talent, are widely used as an obvious shield. A team playing to its strengths is an important factor in any successful sport. squad. Shouldn't this translate into a nation's success in sports? Denmark and Sweden are relatively small countries with small populations, but have achieved excellent results in badminton and table tennis respectively. Singapore should therefore take a narrower approach and focus on the relative strength of its population and concentrate on sports such as swimming, athletics, bowling and football rather than dabbling in acquiring success in many sporting disciplines by acquiring foreign talent. How many would have forgotten the deeds of Denmark; a country with a small population, in the 1992 European Championships? It has always been emphasized that foreign talent brings with them skills and experience that our local players lack and which they can learn from thus creating a more competitive and dynamic sporting environment in Singapore. The recruitment of coaches and technical directors in the respective sport is also justified to add invaluable quality to the sports scene. It is agreed that these foreign talents contribute to increasing the quality of local sports, but our argument is that these foreign talents should be brought in as sparring partners to play or train with locals rather than represent the nation. This will help local and youth development. A great example is Singapore's Tan Paey Fern, the only Singapore-born table tennis player who managed to get two bronze medals thanks to "her regular training and sparring sessions with her Chinese-born teammates ". Another cause for concern about these advantages of foreign talent is the phenomenon that seems related to the influx of foreign imports representing the premature death of local sportspeople's sporting careers; with the usual excuse of other commitments, studies and decreasing interests cited for these retirements. Tay Paey Fern, Fatimah Kumin-Lim and Patrick Lau are just some of the names that come to mind on this topic. The sad truth behind these "cover excuses" is that local sportspeople are losing their faith in the system. and are expelled from the sports system. These local sporting heroes have struggled their entire lives to reach the pinnacle of local sporting excellence in their respective fields and are then effortlessly eliminated byforeign challengers. In this world where the fittest survive, it makes logical sense to play someone good and expensively recruited more often, but surely there is no golden rule not to protect locally born and bred sportsmen and women who have served this nation with pride and altruism over the years. Furthermore, Like our table tennis team, if half or three-quarters of the national team were "packed full of sardines" with imports, it would realistically dash the dreams of many budding local talents of representing their place of birth. This vicious cycle could help motivate parents even more to discourage their children from taking up sports and will ultimately lead to a mass death of local sporting talent. Even the idea of recruiting foreign talent to coach and coach technical roles does not necessarily mean success. Although Douglas Moore and Ron Hoppe did a great job as coaches for the football and bowling teams, whatever Jan Poulsen and Ken Worden did for the football team was contrary to the term "sports success." In hindsight, technical expertise taken on a consultative basis with systems put in place for local coaches and technical directors to leverage this experience would better serve the interest of the nation. Singapore – A country based on meritocracy Some sections of society believe that Singapore has no special passion or skill in sports unlike medium-sized countries like Australia and Malaysia. Since Singapore is a country based on meritocracy, studies and career are considered more important for Singaporeans. Therefore, Singaporeans devote most of their time and energy primarily to getting a good degree and making a living, with little time for sport, except perhaps watching it. Parents are often skeptical about their children's involvement in sports as they see no future in them. The current behavior of giving sports a backseat in Singapore is changing, albeit slowly. Singapore has evolved from a third world country to a first world country and with this wealth comes the need for self-actualization and potential fulfillment. Recent trends suggest that young Singaporeans are willing to put aside their studies to dive headfirst into the sea of sports to realize how far they can go. This paradigm shift nullifies the claim that Singaporeans are moving away from sports. The newly formed Singapore Sports School is an exemplary model for demonstrating changing values, attitudes and priorities in the lives of Singaporeans. Singapore's strong financial strength is another positive factor that has been cited for recruiting foreign talent. The deep government coffers that provide sports agencies with seed money therefore increase their ability to attract foreign talent to represent Singapore. Since most of these foreign talents are paid relatively little in their home country, sports officials say this is an attractive alternative for nurturing champions. It is conceivable that these foreign talents are paid relatively less, but the bigger picture reveals that these foreign talents don't come cheap either. It is really not fair and justifiable to spend taxpayers' money on a $25,000 a month salary from government coffers for Jan Poulsen, the former national football coach. It seems to make more sense to invest our money on our own people rather than on mercenaries who offer their service to whoever offers the highest price. The respective sports agencies also say that what they are doing is shortening the necessary learning curve.