<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>More can be done for Olympian Tan Howe Liang
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHAT is one to make of NTUC Fairprice Supermarket's recent $10,000 reward for Tan Howe Liang in recognition of his silver-medal feat 48 years ago in Rome? No doubt it was a fine gesture, albeit belated, which I'm sure our man from Swatow least expected. However, one may still ask: Has Singapore gone far enough to show it really appreciates his effort in bringing home the first Olympic medal for Singapore?
Four years ago, I wrote that it was not too late to reward Howe Liang. By that I meant the reward, in kind or cash, should come from our sports authority at the behest of the Government. I thought the implication was obvious, but sadly, nothing came of it, even till today. A 'Tan Howe Liang Appreciation Fund' was even suggested by a reader then, but that idea too was stillborn.
One is left to wonder why this long-overdue gesture had been relegated to a anonymous citizen (who, if my memory serves me right, donated $10,000 in 2004) and a supermarket chain, when a more substantial reward should be seen as coming from a grateful government.
However hard one may argue against giving him a just reward retrospectively, his singular achievement still remains, after all these years, a beacon of inspiration and hope for a tiny nation. Amid the euphoria (and fiasco) following the silver-medal performance of our women's table-tennis team in Beijing, Howe Liang's unblemished feat stands out, especially in the light of the fact that it has gone largely unrecognised by his own country.
Back then in Howe Liang's time, competitive sport was not a national priority and there was little money for our sports heroes. Singapore has prospered beyond recognition since then and champions are nowadays rewarded handsomely, even on stages much smaller than the Olympics. Howe Liang, perhaps with some envy, is left to muse about the magnanimity his country could have, but has so far not shown.
The success of our women's table-tennis team prompted Howe Liang's outburst of relief that no longer would he have to put up with reporters hounding him every four years for comments on his Olympic feat. Beyond this seemingly curt humour lies the tragedy - a champion left behind by the accident of birth who, deep down, just wants to be left alone notwithstanding his greatness.
The real tragedy, however, would be our sports authority's decision to one day honour this one-of-a-kind sportsman posthumously. By then, it will be too little too late. Lee Seck Kay
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHAT is one to make of NTUC Fairprice Supermarket's recent $10,000 reward for Tan Howe Liang in recognition of his silver-medal feat 48 years ago in Rome? No doubt it was a fine gesture, albeit belated, which I'm sure our man from Swatow least expected. However, one may still ask: Has Singapore gone far enough to show it really appreciates his effort in bringing home the first Olympic medal for Singapore?
Four years ago, I wrote that it was not too late to reward Howe Liang. By that I meant the reward, in kind or cash, should come from our sports authority at the behest of the Government. I thought the implication was obvious, but sadly, nothing came of it, even till today. A 'Tan Howe Liang Appreciation Fund' was even suggested by a reader then, but that idea too was stillborn.
One is left to wonder why this long-overdue gesture had been relegated to a anonymous citizen (who, if my memory serves me right, donated $10,000 in 2004) and a supermarket chain, when a more substantial reward should be seen as coming from a grateful government.
However hard one may argue against giving him a just reward retrospectively, his singular achievement still remains, after all these years, a beacon of inspiration and hope for a tiny nation. Amid the euphoria (and fiasco) following the silver-medal performance of our women's table-tennis team in Beijing, Howe Liang's unblemished feat stands out, especially in the light of the fact that it has gone largely unrecognised by his own country.
Back then in Howe Liang's time, competitive sport was not a national priority and there was little money for our sports heroes. Singapore has prospered beyond recognition since then and champions are nowadays rewarded handsomely, even on stages much smaller than the Olympics. Howe Liang, perhaps with some envy, is left to muse about the magnanimity his country could have, but has so far not shown.
The success of our women's table-tennis team prompted Howe Liang's outburst of relief that no longer would he have to put up with reporters hounding him every four years for comments on his Olympic feat. Beyond this seemingly curt humour lies the tragedy - a champion left behind by the accident of birth who, deep down, just wants to be left alone notwithstanding his greatness.
The real tragedy, however, would be our sports authority's decision to one day honour this one-of-a-kind sportsman posthumously. By then, it will be too little too late. Lee Seck Kay
