The respective height of the young CHN MD players, Li Junhui 1.95m, Liu Yuchen 1.93 m, as revealed by Gong Weijie commentating.
The wonderful Bushido spirit of the Japanese, and the harakiri and karoshi practices as well as the dual honne and tatemae faces...
You raise some valid points here. But still, you missed my point. The post I originally replied to was implying that LD lost on purpose in the third set BUT could have won if he really tried. That's what I'm doubting, because as you rightly pointed out, the accumulation of tiredness was just too much for him in the end.
Ample room for improvement from LJH/LYC, technically speaking. Still young, both 20 years old and not experienced enough; huge potential and aptitude, should go far.
the Korean are not the strong smashing pair but read game really superb.. overcome their disadvantage in smashing..
The lost Japanese pair really looked sad during the medal ceremony. Can feel for them but also admire their spirit.
Li/Liu are winning, this pair if proven to be dominant should go to the Olympics. it's better to send a winnable pair than two pairs.
We now live in a "borderless" world where movement of people is relatively easy. More so with cheap budget airlines bringing vast numbers the world over to hitherto unaffordable places. We can't stop the smart and educated from seeking out greener pastures elsewhere to fulfill their ambitions. We have talented Singaporeans leaving for better opportunities, normally to the higher income countries. We also have people from other countries, usually less developed than Singapore, wanting to be part of us. They have high hopes in our country. That's how we learn to integrate and grow. That's how our forefathers and pioneers learnt to live with other racial communities under British rule in the early 1800s and managed to stay on till we are now citizens of Singapore. Singapore prospered because of our forefathers' ability to rough it out in very difficult conditions and made a place for themselves through sheer hard work. The new ones who joined us not too long ago will probably undergo a difficult transformation as well. So we should not begrudge those who left us subsequently. Therefore we should not discriminate against those who may not be born in Singapore especially. As Singapore grew, we had better educated talents, both local and from abroad, who wanted a country of their own and not continued to be ruled by outsiders. So in 1965 we became independent by accident, but was left with a tiny place virtually without resources but relatively full of people. Whoever was left with us through our struggle to achieve the best we could was a welcomed contribution. It was the combined effort of both 'local' and 'non-local' born leaders that helped shape what Singapore is today. We should thank the so-called "outsiders" or "imported" citizens who stuck on with us throughout Singapore's early modern history. Therefore it is not right for us to separate ourselves as locals from those not born here. They and subsequently their children born in Singapore will continue to make contributions to our tiny island. We should be grateful that our little Red Dot still holds dreams for outsiders for them to want to become our citizens. The relatively few who then returned to their home country or migrate elsewhere for whatever reason, let it be. They have already made their contributions to Singapore. Have you given a thought to millions of refugees currently running away from wars and destruction in their own country just so that they can have a better life, so they thought? But many were cheated and sacrificed their lives in the process. Among them were young children and the elderly who were physically weaker. And having reached their country of destination after a hazardous journey, they were rejected or caught to be returned to where they came from? So there is little difference between local and not-local born. The difference lies in who is able to contribute to the country's good in the end. No use having a local born who can't contribute but make a mess of himself that requires the resources of the country to bail him out.
Yup, I think one more year of full engagement in the int'l circuit then they will be more steady and harvest more benefits Right now they made too many fancy strikes and lost in many soft touch exchanges.
Loh, you wrote in lengthy touching the very complex matters whereas the era, number of population, natural resource availability, communication and information exchange and the globalization thus awareness and knowledge, economy & financial hardships, possible change of guards on earth (old v new system) and some others, all come into the interplay. As for the MENA refugees, from the outset the forces should not have invaded and destroyed the nests... now they had inflicted destruction and turmoils there, the bees and hornets are forced to seek out new nests. Yet the moves can be part of grander ideas...nothing seems to be natural or happened on their owns...
Uncle Loh, good write. You are those people who makes the world a better place. From your post, you must be one of those who works your socks off for a better life and subsequently contributed to nation building and now reaping some long overdue rewards through the pioneer incentives, though not much but better than nothing. Are you running for the coming presidency?
