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MCYS programme to help Singapore athletes chase more Olympic glory
BY LIN XINYI
SIX athletes will lead Singapore’s push
for more Olympic glory at the 2012 Lon-
don Olympic Games.
And a new initiative – the Olympic
Pathway Programme (OPP) – will help
keep the Olympic hopes on track.
Among the first athletes to be selected
for this elite group are paddlers Feng Tian-
wei, Wang Yuegu, Sun Beibei and Yu
Mengyu; swimmer Tao Li and shooter Jas-
mine Ser.
The OPP, which was announced by
Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Commu-
nity Development, Youth and Sports) Teo
Ser Luck yesterday, is aimed at providing
additional support for medal potentials.
The programme is built on the success
of Project 0812 and is seen as a top-up to
the funding national athletes already re-
ceive. The OPP has both short- and
long-term goals.
The main objectives of the OPP are to
prepare the athletes for the 2012 Games,
and to develop a model for the future na-
tional sports institute, which is expected
to be up after 2012.
“We are hungrier now, we are looking
for more, and we are aiming for higher
standards,” said Mr Teo.
“We need a long-term plan to do that.
Instead of ad-hoc committees, we need
the fraternity to work together and to
have an institution to take care of the Ol-
ympic preparation.”
The OPP will be overseen by a steering
committee led by Mr Teo. It will be assist-
ed by three sub-committees: identifica-
tion, training and development, and
sports medicine and sports science.
He stressed that athletes on the pro-
gramme are not guaranteed an Olympic
place. Likewise, those who have not made
the initial list still have every chance of
joining the OPP.
While there were 22 beneficiaries of
Project 0812 – the $7 million funding pro-
gram aimed at winning medals at the
2008 and 2012 Olympics – only a select
few have met the OPP criteria.
The qualifying criteria are different for
each sport, and are based on factors such
as the level of competition and the events
participated in.
Mr Teo said the six athletes chosen pro-
vide the benchmark for the level of poten-
tial required: each of them has the poten-
tial to be a medallist at the 2012 Games.
The OPP committee received numer-
ous nominations from six sports.
National sailors and world No. 10 pad-
dler and Olympic silver medallist Li Jia-
wei were the notable absentees.
Mr Teo explained that Li was omitted
as athletes under the OPP need to be cur-
rently in training.
But Li, who is pregnant with her first
child, can expect to be part of the pro-
gramme when she returns to full training.
The same applies for athletes on the
brink of Olympic potential.
Sailing boss
confident
470 pair will
make cut
The six selected BY LIN XINYI
THE sport accounted for 13 of the 22 ath-
letes under Project 0812 – when the initia-
tive to win medals at the 2008 and 2012
Olympics was announced two years ago.
But Singapore’s sailors were the sur-
Tao Li, 19 prise absentees from the initial list of six
Jasmine Ser
(Swimming) athletes under the new Olympic Pathway
(right), 18
Set Asian record in Programme (OPP).
(Shooting)
100m butterfly SingaporeSailing had submitted more
Became the first
when she became than 10 names, but none were included in
Singaporean
the first the first batch of athletes announced by
woman to feature the Ministry of Community Develop-
in a World Cup Singaporean
final this year. swimmer to make ment, Youth and Sports yesterday.
Still, they are confident of catching
an Olympic final.
the next wave.
Yesterday’s announcement initially
raised the eyebrows of SingaporeSailing
president Low Teo Ping.
However, following clarification that
athletes can qualify for the OPP once
they meet the eligibility criteria, Low and
SingaporeSailing’s head of high perform-
ance, Mark Robinson, are confident the
sailors will soon be on board.
Low said: “The disappointment, if
any, is the exclusion of Roy Tay and Ter-
Feng Tianwei, 22 Sun Beibei, 25 ence Koh, both of whom qualified for the
(Table tennis) (Table tennis) Olympics 470 men’s class, and meet the
World No. 6 won World No. 30, criteria.”
the decider against recently reached
South Korea, as the semi-finals of
Last year, Tay partnered Chung Pei
Ming, while Koh paired up with Xu Yuan
Singapore won the German Open. Zhen.
Olympic silver.
With Xu and Chung now resuming
their studies, Tay and Koh are sailing to-
gether. But, as a new pairing, they have
yet to meet the OPP criteria.
Wang Yuegu, Yu Mengyu, 19
To be considered for the programme,
28 (Table tennis)
the sailors will need to achieve a top-10
(Table tennis) World No. 33,
finish in a top-tier event, such as any of
World No. 9 was finished in the last
the ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas.
part of Team of 16 of the World
However, SingaporeSailing intends to
the Year. Individual C’ships.
lodge an appeal on behalf of the duo.
Robinson said: “I’m sure they will get
there – it’s just a matter of time.”
PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MY PAPER, LIANHE ZAOBAO, ST FILE On the back of achieving historic re-
sults last year, Low is hoping the sailors
Chairman of the identification lion set aside for Project 2012. will receive the additional funding that
Whatever the amount, Mr Teo is sure the OPP offers to spur them to greater
sub-committee Ng Ser Miang said that
that the benefits far outweigh the costs. heights.
his committee will conduct regular re- He said: “Last year, two 470 pairs qual-
He said: “If successful, we’ve devel-
views to determine the inclusion and ex- ified for the Olympics for the first time in
oped a system where we know how to
clusion of athletes. identify talents, how to keep them in the first round of qualifying.
He added that athletes who display po- training and develop them, how to retain “That is a tremendous breakthrough
tential will be considered. them for the longer-term, and how to for sailing in Singapore... This is attribut-
Funding for the OPP has yet to be take care of them after their sports ca- ed to the extra funding from Project 0812.
worked out. But it is understood that it reers.” “Now, it is a question of what is the
will be more, possibly double the $7 mil- linxinyi@sph.com.sg next step forward.”

Liu’s back to seek answers from STTA

BY LIN XINYI
WHEN he left Singapore without fanfare
at the start of the year, Liu Guodong said
he would return.
The former national table tennis head
coach got his wish – but not in the man-
ner he envisaged.
The 35-year-old, who arrived here yes-
terday morning, is back to seek an expla-
nation from Singapore Table Tennis Asso-
ciation (STTA) president Lee Bee Wah
over recent comments made about him.
Following the STTA’s decision not to
nominate Liu for the Singapore National
Olympic Council’s Coach of the Year
award, even though he helped to deliver
the country’s first Olympic medal in 48
years, Ms Lee said: “Results are not the
only criterion to the STTA. A Coach of
the Year has to be professional, have in-
tegrity, be able to gel the team and is
well-respected by all his players.”
Liu said he felt insulted by the com-
ments and wants Ms Lee to clarify her re-
marks.
The Straits Times understands that
representatives from the STTA have yet
to meet him.
STTA honorary secretary Soon Min
Sin said: “We are happy to meet him. We
cannot confirm when that will be as we
have not been able to reach him yet.”
Asked if a mediator would be present,
Soon said: “We’re still friends, so I don’t
see the need for a mediator.”
He did not confirm if Ms Lee would be
at the meeting, saying that he, along with
one or two more STTA representatives,
would be there.
Ms Lee could not be reached for com-
ment.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Com-
munity Development, Youth and Sports)
Teo Ser Luck is hopeful that the STTA
and Liu will resolve their differences.
Speaking to reporters at the Olympic
Pathway Programme press conference,
he said: “I believe that they should look
at the issue and if possible, they could set-
tle it amicably... we have to move on for
the sake of sports and table tennis.”
National paddler Yang Zi also believes
the past should remain in the past.
“What is important for the players and
for Singaporeans now is improving our re-
sults,” he said.
Asked if he felt Liu was deserving of
the Coach of the Year award, Yang, Singa-
pore’s No. 2, said: “He was the overall
coach, but he didn’t bother much about
the men’s team. I can’t rate a coach
whom I’ve not worked with.”
Former national paddler Tan Paey
Fern also gave her take on her former
coach.
“Under Liu, (Wang) Yuegu was unfair-
ly treated,” she said. “But, in the end, the
Ex-coach Liu speaking to the media at Changi Airport yesterday. He wants STTA team were united by the common goal of
president Lee Bee Wah to clarify “insulting” comments. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO winning a medal.”