S’pore SEA Games Chef de Mission: We must send the best

Singapore Southeast Asian (SEA) Games contingent’s Chef de Mission Tan Eng Liang says that beyond any other determining factors, our country should always send the best athletes to the Games.

Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore on Friday morning, Tan said that the development and exposure to young local athletes should be done throughout, not simply at major games.

“As far as I’m concerned as a selector, we must send the best. It’s as simple as that,” said the former national water polo player and vice president of the SNOC. “You don’t wait till the SEA Games to say, ‘I want to expose (our younger athletes)’; it makes no sense.”

“Going to the SEA Games is like any other major games—you need to qualify. And after you qualify, the best must go,” he continued, when asked about fielding young local athletes such as paddler Isabelle Li alongside Singapore’s world number four Feng Tianwei.

Tan was commenting on the friction that occurred about three months ago between the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) over the lineup of Singapore paddlers to be fielded for the coming Games in Jakarta.

The STTA wanted to send a line-up of younger Singaporean players, which included Isabelle Li, 16, and Zena Sim, 20, bypassing Singapore’s top three paddlers Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Li Jiawei. However, the SNOC disagreed with its decision, and pushed for the experienced trio to be sent to Jakarta instead.

The controversy that followed was eventually settled with STTA including Feng into the SEA Games team, replacing Yu Mengyu.

“You have a 25-year-old, you have a 16-year-old. Obviously, the 16-year-old is not as good as the 25. Both qualify, both go. But if the 16-year-old didn’t qualify, you say I must send the 16, (to) the 25 (you say), you give way. Where is the transparency; the fairness? And the spirit of sportsmanship? The best goes,” he said.

“Singapore is known for its meritocracy. So obviously I don’t agree with the exposure theory.”

Tan made reference to what he called “an obligation” on the part of national athletes who represent Singapore at international meets to perform at their best, because of the support given to them in the course of their training.

“When we send you, when you did your training… it was all on public funds. All the grants that are paid to you? All these are public money. So therefore to me there is this, I call it even an obligation on your part to commit to do your level best to represent Singapore,” he said.

“So as far as I’m concerned, the best must go.”