A Singaporean In Australia

Had she rejected an offer to represent UK but "chose not to"?

Also, won't it be consistent on the part of these countrymen, if they felt equally "less acceptance" between a "Singaporean" who left 3 years after birth and some other who was born elsewhere but became a "Singaporean" after living in it, say for 3 years, with respect to representing the island in international sporting event?

Can I weigh in on this? The UK number one in the world by a long way when it comes to Equestrian sports. At the 2012 Olympics, UK was no. 1 on the medal tally for Equestrian, winning 3 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze. At the 2012 Paralympics, UK was no. 1 again, with 5 golds, 5 silvers, 1 bronze.

It's a combination of having a strong equestrian tradition in the UK + a well funded training programme that has made UK number one in this sport. Laurentia Tan is very good at what she does, but given how fiercely competitive it is to get a spot on the team GB Paralympics Equestrian team - she would not have been guaranteed a spot on the team. There have been many wonderfully talented equestrian riders who missed out on competing at the Olympics/Paralympics because of the limited number of competitors each country can field at the Olympics/Paralympics.

Laurentia was guaranteed a berth at the Paralympics as a Singaporean given that she is easily no. 1 in her category amongst all Singaporeans - given that we don't have a strong tradition in this sport in Singapore. But who knows if she would even get to compete at the Paralympics had she tried to represent the UK?

So you are reading way too much into her choice to represent Singapore and jumping to your own conclusions - it could be a tactical choice. Frankly, to take part in the Olympics/Paralympics is a once in a life time experience for any athlete who has trained hard - one would do whatever one could to make sure one actually gets there to compete.

In any case, don't forget: Feng (together with Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu) won a silver medal in women's table tennis for the women's team event. So you were wrong to say that this was the first silver medal since Tan Howe Liang.

Furthermore, Feng has spent a total of 5 years in Singapore - whilst Tan has spent only 3 years in Singapore. Feng chose to move to Singapore and lived here for the last 5 years, whilst Tan was born in Singapore and spent her first 3 years in Singapore as a baby (no element of CHOICE on her part) - and as an adult, she could've moved back to Singapore but didn't. So there you go.

"The most important thing is not to win but to take part!" - De Coubertin

It seems that Laurentia, Feng, et al understood this rather well, without "take part", neither would probably spent more than 3 years nor lived more than 5 here - without this quid pro quo.

Singapore should try to understand this as well, the likes of Jamaica national bobsled team or Eric the Eel, should be more exhilarating and fun to cheer, even if it is only silver in weight lifting.

Sure, keep playing up the "grew up in UK not really Singaporean" angle while choosing to ignore the fact that Feng and the chinese table-tennis women's team were essentially trained in China. I'd be damned if they only started their table tennis careers in Singapore. That Feng moved here only five years ago to reap material benefits conveniently placed at her doorstep (and any other country could do the same) does not matter? Because you choose to ignore people like that do it as a free agent. Feng et al. will go wherever there is an opportunity, Singapore, France or Zimbabwe. So where is the pride of nationalistic representation?

Hi Limpeh FT,

Nice to see you here again. Let me summarise your points. If I get anything wrong let me know.

1) Laurentia chose to represent Singapore so that she has a chance to participate, because she would be unlikely to get to represent UK.

2) Based on the number of years spent in Singapore, Feng Tian Wei et al deserves my adulation more than Laurentia.

3) I left out some silver medal winners in between.

Ironically, I supposed I was not reading enough into Laurentia's choice to represent Singapore. In fact, I was too naive to take things at face value. However, there might be others who read too much into it, in my opinion.

I don't see the point of bringing the table tennis team into this. Though I made a mistake by not accounting our table tennis women team's silver medal, it doesn't mean I am undermining their effort or questioning their nationality loyalties.

By bringing the nationality debate into this (as if we haven't got enough of it), it is just another 'here we go again' that nobody ever wins. It looks like I was naive yet another in thinking sports have finally united Singaporeans (and I'm not sure if you and I are considered Singaporeans by your standards anymore), yet again, it looks like it is dividing us again.

I wonder when we can celebrate a sports victory together as simple as it should be.

Hi again. Yes, that's all correct. I just wanted to add that team GB only sent 5 Equestrian competitors to the Paralympics. Great Britain is the strongest country in the world when it comes to Equestrian sports - they crushed the competition in both the Paralympics and Olympics in 2012, winning more gold medals than any other nation competing.

It would be an uphill task for Laurentia to make top 5 in GB - is she good enough to be top 5 in GB? I don't know enough about Equestrian to make that call but what I can tell you is this: Equestrian is big here and there was a tough selection process to select the best 5 to represent team GB at the Paralympics.

Now, just imagine if Laurentia had taken British nationality and then competed in the trials to be selected for the Paralympics - and she had a bad day or her horse was unwell that day and she doesn't perform well at the trials and ends up ranked 6th or 7th. That means that's it, no Paralympics, game over. Laurentia is great at Equestrian, but she would be fighting with former world champions and Paralympics Gold medallists for one of those 5 spots on the team GB Paralympics team. The odds are stacked against her.

Imagine what it would be like for her to train so hard only to be denied the chance to compete because she didn't perform well enough at the trails. So no, you are jumping to the wrong conclusions - she was never offered a chance to represent the UK. It's a technicality, she doesn't hold British citizenship thus she cannot represent the UK.

If you make it to the Olympics or the Paralympics and you're there competing - at least you have the chance to win something. Laurentia did what she have to in order to make sure she had that chance and she made the most of that opportunity each time, winning a total of 4 medals. Her strategy worked! Look, when you've worked this hard to get this far to be one of the best in the world in any sport, you don't want to leave anything to chance - such as risk not getting selected for the Paralympics.

Let me leave you with a story of another British athlete who suffered this fate to show you just how harsh the selection process is. Daniel Keating is one of Britain's greatest gymnast, he was world no. 2 in 2009 and has been crowned European champion as well as won World Cup events. Team GB can only send just 5 male gymnasts to the Olympics and Keatings (and many of us fans) were shocked when he was left off the team because he didn't perform well enough in the selection trials for the British Olympics team. Like, hey, this man was once ranked no. 2 in the world, not just in the UK, but the whole world and they left him out of the team for the Olympics because the coaches decided they had 5 better gymnasts.

Can you imagine the bitter disappointment that Keatings felt, after having worked so hard all his life for the Olympics, only to be left off the 5-men squad? Ouch. Poor guy.

Would you want Laurentia to risk being in the same position Keatings? She'll say, no thanks. That's a terrible position to be in. Sorry to rain on your patriotic parade, but such is the harsh reality of the Olympics & Paralympics.

Good morning Limpeh FT,

Yes. Actually I do get the point you are driving right from the start. I am not new to sports, in case you get a wrong impression and had to explain these in detail again. This isn't pertaining to only equestrian and gymnastic, it happens to every sport especially in soccer. 2 soccer world cups ago, a player of Brazilian roots represented Japan for example.

Having said that, I don't think you have 'rained on my patriotic parade'. Not at all.

The main point of my post was somewhat missed. I made the call for discouraged Singaporeans to be inspired by someone who was born in the same country as us and went on to achieve great things. I'm not sure why we have to bring in the technicalities of qualification here. In fact, somebody like you, Limpeh FT, has been looked upon as an inspiration as well. Correct me if I am wrong, I recalled reading in your blog that you strive to inspire Singaporeans by sharing your experience. Basically a 'I can do it, so can it' manner. I like it, and I applaud you for this. Are you going to take the gloss out of that by explaining to your faithful readers that you are not worth celebrating because technically you are not even a red passport holder anymore? I don't think so and I don't think that is relevant anyway.

I'll reiterate my point. Basically, someone who shares our roots, did very well in our national colours. Whether or not it is by coincidence, intent, luck or conspiracy, I don't see why we shouldn't celebrate and be inspired. Secondly, whatever the motivations behind Laurentia's decision to represent Singapore in a sporting event, I felt that she deserves to be in limelight proper as much as our table tennis representatives, whose motivations to represent Singapore is probably more fitting to your description above. I think that is a fair call.

Hi Limpeh FT,
by the same reasoning, those pingpong women had they remained in China would not have made it to the PRC national team. Comparing Laurentia with them, i have to say they had far more support from the Sin Govt as well as the advantage of making extra income playing on european, asia tournaments, etc.

Even though WangYueGu spent 5 yrs in SinCity compared to Laurentia's 3 years, i tend to look at it as "acceptance" by Sporeans rather than the time frame, simply because Laurentia's parents are Sporeans. I stand corrected if i am wrong about this. To Laurentia, her parents' home will always be her home, and that includes Singapore. I believe Sporeans in general will embrace Laurentia simply because her parents are Sporeans, does not matter if she was educated and lived abroad. It has all to do with the notion of family. It is like your siblings and friends who will always be your siblings and friends irrespecitve of where they may be on the planet.

i have always admire humans who have this can-do-spirit despite their physical or mental handicap.

to me the damn PAP hypocrites are not fit to share in any achievement by those who are handicapped, simply because these PAP buggers represent the negative example of what it means to have the human indomitable spirit.....if you notice, they can only compete by first ensuring their competitors are handicapped.

ps: therein probably lies the reason why they have great difficulty accepting people like Laurentia.

Hi all, I join you in your admiration of Laurentia - the fact is, if you have spent some time watching the Paralympics, you will feel inspired by some of these competitors. I saw this American player Nick Taylor in the wheelchair tennis event - goodness me, he can't walk, he has a deformed spine, he has one deformed arm and one good arm, yet he went on to win a wheelchair tennis gold medal. Just watching him zip around the tennis court in his electric wheelchair, hitting the ball back with his one good arm was just amazing.

And to the person (you didn't leave your name) who left the comment above - I'm not sure about my parents' home or where my home is. I was raised in S'pore but hold a British passport. My dad was raised in Malaysia but holds a Singapore passport. I know he considers Singapore home, the same way I draw a distinction between calling London home and Singapore my home town - these differences are only in my head and a lot of it depends on whether or not I wish to return to Singapore eventually (no, I really don't want to and can rule that out categorically.)

I find this "her parents are Singaporeans" thing rather... strange. I have a fairly distant relationship with my parents after having spent 15 years away from Singapore - it's like, yeah I get along with them but we're not close. I hate to think that anyone would base their decision on whether to like me on my parents - rather than what they see of me. Like, if I do something to annoy you or offend you and you don't like or accept me as a result - then fair enough. But my parents? Geez.

Having said that - from what I've read about Laurentia Tan, she seems like a perfectly nice person who has overcome the odds to do so well in Equestrian. Why not like her for who she is, rather than her parents?

Hi Limpeh FT,
"acceptance" does not mean "to like", but it is desirable to have both from the community.

any child borned into a sporean family is generally accepted by the community as a sporean, does not depend on the parent and child relationship. i assumed Laurentia is close to her parents to argue my case. i am not an expert on sociology but merely expressing myself as an ordinary sporean how i feel when comparing her with the pingpong players from PRC.

in a recent yahoo poll, only 20% sporeans felt pride in the olympic silver for pingpong. however there was no poll done with Laurentia and i tend to believe her achievement will be more widely 'accepted' by sporeans.

as i have said, i admire the pysically and mentally handicapped who have demonstrated the indomitable spirit, does not matter which country, but of course it is great to see sporeans amongst them.

from anon @16.08

I see your point - but I'd like to think that even acceptance should be based on one's actions and behaviour, rather than one's parents. Take a young Singaporean man is found guilty of a horrible crime vs a PRC immigrant who goes out of his way to do volunteer work and win the love & trust of his community in S'pore... A bit of an extreme example to illustrate my point - but there you go.

I accept that many Singaporeans feel that Feng (and Li and Wang) could've made more of an effort to assimilate and learn English - but there you go; that's fair enough, judge them on what they have (or have not) done, rather than their nationality or parentage per se. Likewise, I only hope that you guys will judge Laurentia with the same fairness, rather than jump to your own conclusions by picking and choosing your own criteria however irrelevant (such as her parentage).

I'm sorry, but I am writing as an adult who has a respectful but distant relationship with my parents - such is the way we are. The generation gap is just too big for us to be conventionally close. It may be fair enough to judge adults by their children (ie. have they been good parents? how did their kids turn out?) - but the inverse is just not fair (ie. to judge one by one's parents). Laurentia is 33, she is an adult, not a child - let's judge her as an individual, an adult, a grown woman. She is a really wonderful, inspirational woman - so I don't know why you have to drag her parents into the equation. It just doesn't seem fair to her.

Hi Limpeh FT,
i am merely trying to point out that parentage is 'one good reason' why a person is accepted by the community, i.e in Laurentia's case. i believe it is a typical mindset of humans. perhaps you can recall how the Thais felt alot of pride in Tiger Woods simply because his mother is Thai even though he has spent 99% of his time in the US. in fact he was given honarary Thai citizenship.

from anon 16.08

Oh yeah, I am familiar with that kind of behaviour. It's like when some football team (eg. Manchester United) wins a football match and then the whole of Manchester celebrates and I think, duh - what are you celebrating for? Did you play in that match? Did you coach that football team? Have you even met any of the players ever before in yor life? No, no, no - that football match they played and won has got absolutely NOTHING to do with you, so what right have you got to celebrate?

I get the feeling that sometimes people attach themselves to their heroes - it may be a sports star, a rock star/singer, an actor or even a politician but often the adoration is one way. I firmly believe that pride should be something personal, something related to something you have achieved personally, that you can hold up to the world and say, "hey look, I have done that, pretty neat yeah?" Pride shouldn't be borrowed from someone else, like saying, "Manchester United won the football match today ...."

Oh and on the topic of home: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00v0y4v In Laurentia's own words during this interview: "London is my home." Not Singapore, that's the country she represents but London is her home.

Hi Limpeh FT,
did Laurentia mention her parents' home in spore is like a second home ?
perhaps in the distant future spore will be her home.

A spore is actually a tiny, hardy home, in which a hope for new life is kept compactly protected.

Hi Robert L,

Some things can never be equal, much as some might like it to be. The economics of each sports is different, to start off with. A swimmer for example, has a potential to win a lot of prize money because he can take part in many categories of the same sport if he is good enough. A member of a soccer team on the hand, can only win 1 medal maximum at the same competition. The same people who wanted equal prize money of Paralympic smedal vs an Olympics one would be crying out to balance every other imbalances of sports.

Ideally, we would like to romanticize sports. In reality, every sportsman and sportswoman as well as aspiring young people, have different motivations to make it at the biggest stage. Some want to prove themselves, some does it for self actualisation, some for passion, some for honor and glory, some for the love of their country and of course, for the money, chicks and all.

Team GB are no. 1 in the world when it comes to Equestrian sports and were number 1 in the medal tally for Equestrian at both the 2012 Paralympics and Olympics - and if you were to look back at pat Paralympics & Olympic Games, team GB have always been extremely strong and almost always no. 1 in the medal tally.

It would've been extremely difficult to get on the team GB Paralympics team given how fierce the competition is - each country has a limited number of berths at the Olympics, it's not like you can send 50 or 100 competitors to the Equestrian event at the Paralympics just because you have many good riders in your country. Even was world no. 1, team GB only sent 5 Equestrian riders to the Paralympics! Just 5! Imagine the poor rider who was ranked no. 6 in Britain, who just missed out on competing. It could well be a tactical decision on Laurentia's part (or her coach's part) to represent Singapore to make sure she gets there and gets to compete in the first place, rather than risk not being selected at the last minute because she didn't make top 5 in the UK. If you've been training so hard for so many years, that's not a risk you wanna take.

In any case, let's be fair to Laurentia - she left at the age of 3 because her parents wanted to enrol her in the best school in the world for deaf pupils - the Mary Hare Grammar school. It is a specialist school for deaf pupils where all the teachers are trained in sign language and offer an extremely high standard of education. No such equivalent school exists in Singapore and given her cerebral palsy and deafness, there just wasn't a school in Singapore that could've given her the kind of education she had at Mary Hare Grammar School.

Think about it - if you were her parents, wouldn't you want to give your disabled child the best possible chance to realize her full potential in life, at the risk of Singaporeans like you labelling her a 'quitter'? I could equally argue that the Singaporean education let her down by not providing an opportunity for her to get a decent education in Singapore, that's why her parents had little choice but to seek alternatives for her in England. Mr N., did you forget for a moment that Laurentia Tan is actually quite disabled? DUH. Be fair to her lah!

Let me reply your questions.

A) Laurentia's parents enrolled her in the best possible school for deaf students - it is an extremely expensive specialist school in Berkshire with state of the art equipment and it costs about S$66,000 a year for a child to attend that school (at primary school level) and that price goes up as the student gets older. Laurentia is very lucky she has filthy rich parents who can afford to buy her that kind of education - do you have any idea how woefully inadequate education is for disabled students? Laurentia had to leave and go to England for a better future for her education and options were severely limited in Singapore as a deaf person - Singapore let her down and she was in such a lucky position to be able to settle in another country thanks to her parents' wealth.

b) Any athlete in any sport who trains so hard to get to the Olympics would give 100% whether or not they are rewarded for medals. You clearly have never competed in any kind of sports before. Duh. What kinda question is that?

c) That is a good question - but you have to recognize that the UK is world no. 1 (by a VERY long way) in Equestrian.

All 5 members of the UK paralympics Equestrian team are extremely strong competitors. Let me show you how much BETTER than Laurentia Tan they were:

Laurentia Tan: 1 silver, 1 bronze

Team GB Equestrian team members:
Sophie Christiansen 3 gold medals,
Natasha Baker: 2 gold medals
Lee Pearson 1 gold 1 silver 1 bronze
Deborah Criddle 1 gold 2 silvers,
Sophie Wells 1 gold 2 silvers.

As good as Laurentia was, her results paled in comparison to all the other team GB riders who won more medals than her and all of them won at least 1 gold medal whilst Laurentia only managed 1 silver 1 bronze. Sorry to rain on your parade but compared to the other 5 team GB riders, she is just not good enough to come in top 5 in the UK and represent team GB at the Paralympics.

In fact, if team GB was allowed to send say 10 competitors to the Equestrian event, they would've almost had a clean-sweep of all the medals - that's just how good team GB is at Equestrian. That's why if Laurentia wanted to take part at the Paralympics, she had to represent Singapore.

d) I hate the fucking PAP more than you, let me assure you that.