Sure I agree with you to some extent as you can't change the colour of your skin, for example. But in the big stage such as the Olympics, when you are sponsored by a particular country and you fly that country's flag, you represent that country although you may be bred and born elsewhere. If Ronald should win a medal, it will be under Singapore's name, not Indonesia's. That is why in this instance, it will be wrong to put Ronald in the same category as the Indonesians, no disrespect to them of course. It will also be the same treatment for all other athletes who compete under their adopted country's name. And if Ronald wins the gold, he will be richly rewarded by Singapore, not Indonesia. Anyway Ronald's case has been discussed at some length in this Forum and so have been the pros and cons of having foreign talents as well. I guess we have to let the matter rest for now.
Ronald is Singaporean, and we should respect that. I am not Singaporean (I am Malaysian actually) but I think what Singapore has done is good. Ronald would not have had the same opportunities if he had remained in Indonesia, but Singapore offered him a home and all the facilities for him to become a respectable player. Indonesians should feel proud like the Brazilians for football instead of feeling upset. If Ronald had not become a world class player, I don't think there would be so much attention attracted. Let's drop this issue now and embrace the spirit of Olympics....everyone is equal.
just to add my two cents worth - lilian thuram and zinedine zidane were not born french but when they lifted the world cup in 1998, no one had questioned their frenchness. that's why the Singaporean government has no problem embracing foreign-born talents as one of their own.
i don't think that it's a good example LoL , because Lilian thuram and zidane both of them were borned and raised in france LoL
No problem, we got the idea! I think Patrick Vieira is from Senegal in the first place but I'm not really sure. And... well the are some people who DO criticize the french team for being "multi-racial", but these are just poor idiots! (I only criticize them for being "spoilt stars"! )
I agree most of the world's best players are on display. But a few are from countries which do not have a strong tradition in the sport but are included not based on their World Ranking, rather as a matter of IBF's new policy to promote the game to as many countries in as many continents, a policy which I whole heartily support for the good of world badminton. These players, who have a chance to join the cream of young people from all over the world at the Athens Olympics, were given precedence over even great players like Xia Xuanze of China and they come from relatively 'badminton weak' countries like Spain, South Africa, Poland, Norway and Finland. But let's hope in time to come, such countries will be a force to reckon with in future and the badminton game will take on a firmer root - all for the betterment of world badminton!
I agree with your assessment. With all due respect, players like Sergio Llopis, Richard Vaughan and Bjoern Joppien should not have easier paths if players like Choon Hann, Chen Hong and Lin Dan should struggle in the initial rounds.
Susilo no Pushover Well I did say that Ronald Susilo of Singapore is no pushover. He just won the first game 15-12 against Lin Dan. Ronald attacked the left-handed Lin's backhand and it paid dividends. And Ronald was able to withstand most of the smashes of Lin and really frustrated him. And Ronald is now confortably leading 9-4 in th second game. I'm afraid the younger Lin is showing signs of fatigue which is good for Ronald, who himself is tiring from this great effort. An upset seems to be in the making provided the older Ronald can last the distance.
Ronald beats Lin in Straight Games! Well, my friends, as I have said, don't discount Ronald who has now proven he can beat the best in the most pretisgious tournament in the world, the Olympics! Ronald was leading massively during the earlier stages of the second game but the lack of focus gave Lin a chance to chase up to only a point difference. But, as the game progressed Lin's energy was greatly sapped and the thought of losing made him made a string of unforced errors towards the end to give Ronald a ray of hope, which he completely capitalized. Ronald won convincely 15-12, 15-10. Ronald's defense was marvellous and he really pushed Lin to the limit in both games by playing a patient game and continuously testing Lin's weaker backhand, which Lin had to execute over the head. This really sapped Lin's enormous energy and in the end he looked a defeated man. I will not hide my joy as a result of Ronald's upset and hope he can recover soon enough from the titantic battle and be ready for the next encounter. Good play Ronald and may you show the same determination in subsequent matches!
Well, Congrats to Ronald Susilo. I fell asleep right before the match started and when I woke up, Lin Dan was already trailing 2-4 in the second game. As more towards Lin Dan's supporter, I was hoping him to make a come-back and he did show some fighting spirit and caught up to 9-10 after losing quite a big margin. Again, the curse is still not broken - top seed doesnt win in the MS. However, still happy to see that Li Yongbo actually clapped his hands when Susilo won! And...it's actually good to see that Lin Dan was behaving very well on-court. Way to go!! [lol] [Loh, I can just imagine how HAPPPYYY you are!! ]
That's the fortune! " no one can beat the fortune" said by the Chinese 10m air rifle athlete,Zhao yinhui,who is highly expected to win the first gold medal for China in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.Eventually,She could not get any medals in those 2 Olympic games. Was Lindan highly stressed for the high expectation from his coach and fans? I didn't watch the game,so I didn't know what he was in the game.Anyway,Let's not only clap for the winner,but also hail the loser. Lindan is still young.He is only 25 years old by 2008 Beijing Olympics.However,dont know whether he will be seed at that time. Lindan ,Cheer up,that's what I can say as a fan of Lindan Here is after-game pic of Lindan,,he looks very frustrated.
well, when i hear comments of LD like ' he look nervous', 'he's making many unforced errors', 'he's panicking', I think these are all signs of mental unbalance, whether from pressure to win as expected or being his first olympic. Does the china team has a psych consultant on staff? Mental prepareness is quite important in big event like the olympic but this component is often ignored or forgot.
Ronald looks good, but Lee Hyun Il awaits. He looked very very strong when I saw him just now. Also, Peter and Choong Hann is also looking very very good, both are in top form. Choong Hann's smashes are back.
Of course the Chinese team doesn't have any mental coach, or sports psychologist, that's way too modern for them Sorry, I am overdoing it a bit, but I think the problem with the chinese could be that their whole training is so hard that in a way it is a mental selection, as well as a fysical one. In China there are thousands of potential worldclass players (talent wise) so they have to make a selection. If you make training so hard that 80% breaks down before they are 22 years old, that makes life a bit more easy. You cannot seriously say that their preparation is based on any scientific principles. Although there are hundreds of excellent things they do, (technical for example) they make a mistake in this. The coach is always telling what to do, and it is always a lot. That way the coach is garanteed that anyone not breaking down crying or physically is very very strong (from the gift of nature) bodywise and mentalwise. But being always depending on the coach to say what to do, and being under a pressure that there isn't with any other tournament. Players tend to mess up when things become close. Especially men's wise, because competition is more ferocious than with the women (like tennis) One half step wrong and you will lose. With the ladies, you can still win. That's what happened to Dong Jiong, didn't sleep all night in 96, and lost...missing his famous smashes with inches, even less (nervous and no sleep) then you look at your coach, and he looks angry or paniced...so that's no help. I guess, we should be fortunate the Chinese rely on their own things, otherwise they would be even stronger...
OMG ... i can't not believe it ... Lin Dan Lost on the first round.. and Bao also lost to Park ... What’s is going on with Lin and Bao??
If Chen Hong is able to win the Gold then all critics will be silenced. Do you think he's going to win though? Who's he playing in the next round? The Olympics website this time is less informative.
