What is your opinion of the current level of olympism in Singapore?

(On the level of sports) The level of sports is generally improving in certain sports like sailing, bowling, table tennis and golf. However this improvement is only evident in certain sports. Why is that so? Track has been stagnant or even going down. On a school level, track is doing well. Some schools which regard track as a niche area have extra resources devoted to track. However, there may be other talents who are left out in this process, those who aren’t in these schools. Hence we are not completely mobilizing these talents and our small country is losing talent.

(On Olympism in Singapore)

This has almost never been discussed. Is it unfair? There is not enough spirit and sportsmanship amongst athletes who claim they are Olympians. Role models are not being role models. Olympism is there, but there is a greater purpose- it is not just about winning and sports, it is about educating youths via Olympism through sports and in fact, every cca.

Are there any Olympians or idols in this sense in Singapore?

We just formed the Olympian Association. There might be Olympians, but we aren’t using them so we should start spreading the word and getting people to know about Olympism. We should also start acknowledging these people.

Our track team in NJ lacks motivation. How do you think we can go about solving that?

You must know two things- physiology of the event and your body. Train them up together- your psychology and physical. Know your body well so when you go for training, you will know what parts of your body you are training. Everyone can train and work their body together in this process. You also have to analyse- what is lacking in the team? There is a list of test you can take and chart your development as an athlete and as a team.

What do you think of the sports scene in Singapore?

At the end of 2007 there was a committee formed: Sporting Cultural Committee where it pushed through 43 strategies and 23 recommendations in the MCYS. There was also the COSS Report in 2002 which gave rise to the Singapore Sports School. All of these are steps we are taking to improve and groom sport talents in Singapore. There are two steps in making sports a culture in Singapore. Firstly, we have to bring in the people, the athletes. Secondly, we have to bring in the people to watch. The presence of an audience gives the players support and encouragement. You have to give them reasons to play sports, sometimes. A lot of athletes stop by the adulthood because they can’t continue. We could, say, give them scholarships to those who have become champions to help them? So they can go to university and still study.

The Olympic Pathway Programme is also an example of an association looking out for talents. Associations need to do proper talent scouting. Even in school, we must have teachers stepped in Track and Field who will dedicatedly look out for potential sportsmen.