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Sporting on the Red Dot


Image of Loh Kean Yew

On 19 December 2021, Singaporean Loh Kean Yew beat number 1 Viktor Axelsen and became the first Singaporean to be crowned Badminton World Federation (BWF) in Spain. However, unlike usual sporting events, the 24-year-old did not pocket any prize money as the tournament is one of two major events in the sport - the other being the Olympics - that do not offer any financial incentives. He was also not eligible for the Singapore National Olympic Council’s major Games Award Programme, funded by the Tote Board Group, as it applies only to the South-East Asian (SEA), Asian, Commonwealth, and Olympic Games. After fans of Loh learned that he did not win any prize money for his victory, they raised more than US$95,700 (about S$130,000) to celebrate his victory. The Karim Family Foundation set up by the family of Indonesian Tycoon Bachtiar Karim and his wife Dewi Sukwanto had also rewarded Loh with Singapore $200,00 for his exploits at the World Championships, and urged him to continue pursuing his dream of winning an Olympic medal.


Now, this leads us to the question: is it actually fair that Loh did not receive any money from the government for his victory and for the honour he brought to the nation? We believe that we can view this question in two different ways. It is definitely unfair that he did not manage to win any tangible incentive, other than maybe getting the trophy/medal he won, for having brought Singapore so much glory and claiming Singapore a spot in the World Championship. Think about how he spent a large proportion of his life on badminton, the injuries he has suffered, the sacrifices he made and so on. Badminton means the world to him now and the prize money earned is probably an incentive for him to work harder - not only for his dreams but also for his career (partially to pay his coaches as well as his medical fees). The prize money is probably going to be his only or primary source of income for the past and coming years unless he finds another job or wins another championship that allows him to win prize money. Moreover, the lack of prize money has in some way discredited him for his hard work and also shows how Singapore did not recognise the glory he brought to us.


However, on the other hand, put yourself in the government organisation’s shoes. If every championship or every game’s winner were to win a huge sum of prize money from the government, our government budget would become extremely tight and so money that could have been used to benefit a larger population of Singapore would be foregone. Economists call this the opportunity costs - the benefits of the next best alternative is being foregone as decisions are made. Moreover, we believe that there are multiple ways to credit one for effort. The provision of a financial incentive is definitely not the only way an athlete’s efforts can be recognised by the country. Hence, Singapore is not disregarding his achievement by not giving him any prize money. Many media companies have covered his story and many Singaporeans have cheered for his success, leaving encouraging comments on his Instagram page. In addition, when he moved to Singapore at the age of 13, Singapore’s Sport School had given him a scholarship as encouragement in the pursuit of his badminton dreams. It is unfair to say that Singapore does not care about Loh as it did support his journey on his road towards his success.


This brings us to the next question - why are people not keen on pursuing a sporting career in Singapore? Despite the large amounts of scholarships and support the government gives to people in the sporting industry, more often than not, the cost of chasing a sporting career in Singapore is even higher, on top of the high costs of living. From the equipment to the professional tip-top leveled coaches to even the most basic of things such as plane tickets for overseas competitions, these are all unaffordable to the average Singaporean family, hence many would not consider becoming a professional or competitive athlete. Competitive athletes pour all of their time into training, leaving little time to rest, let alone study. In Singapore, or even in the world now, education is one of, if not the most, important thing to have. However, chasing a sporting career makes it difficult for one to focus on their education. Hence most Singaporeans are unwilling to give up the time spent on their education for a sporting career because education may bring them a better career and pay in the future.


Image of Joseph Schooling

Another phenomenon that we have noticed is the sudden attention Singaporeans give when our athletes win games and championships. We are aware of them only when they win. Is it true that Singaporeans only care about winners? Do YOU only cheer for our athletes when they win? Take Singapore’s celebrity athlete Joseph Schooling as an example. When he won the Olympics gold medal for men's 100m butterfly in 2016, the whole of Singapore was cheering for his success but in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when he did not bring home any medal, many netizens took to the internet to criticize him without caring about the situation he was facing. During the season of the Olympics, Schooling’s father, whom he is very dear with, fell severely ill, and this family issue of his definitely took away some of his attention from the games. Thus, we should be empathetic as this will prevent us from attacking him mindlessly. Is this a sign that Singaporeans are being too pragmatic for only celebrating success and not failures? Are we being too success-oriented? I believe this is a question that we can reflect on.


So having come so far in our article, what do YOU think you can do to support Singaporean athletes? What can the Singaporean public do for our very own Singaporean sportsman and woman who bring so much pride and glory to our country?


Written by: See Suen Ning (21S66)

Edited by: Wee Yu Yan (21S66) & Hu Chen Wei (21A10)

Images retrieved from: Mothership.SG

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