asking the right questions

i don't want to join the wave of criticism against imported athletes. this essentially doesn't even stem from xenophobic grounds.

there'll be people who say it isn't appropriate for someone working in the press to opine.

i questioned myself, and i think it's right. because at the core i am right. and it is, to an extent, public interest.

this was what happened with the national table tennis women's team -- a few of whom i should declare i already held poor impressions of -- after they surrendered meekly to Japan in the Olympic semis.

the Singaporean press were waiting. Wang Yuegu and Li Jiawei knew we were there but looked poise to hurry off.

i managed to stop Wang and my question was, "what went wrong?"

there'll be people who say athletes are human and can be emotional. but this is the highest level of sports. a loser at Wimbledon or Augusta will answer it. i think it's a fair question.

she replied with a sarcastic laugh, "isn't this result normal? i think it's normal."

Singapore came into the tournament seeded third, overtaken by the Japanese merely weeks ago. yet the semi-final was a washout, Singapore winning one game out of 10, crashing 3-0.

i was both shocked and offended.

there'll be people who say i'm being anal especially since i don't "know" the local scene. well, i covered local sports four years ago, before many current reporters, and i tell you, this issue is chronic and toxic.

i shot back the best line i could, one i suspect the mainstream journos won't.

"does that mean you came into the match thinking you would lose?"

not surprisingly, and in the most unprofessional, least respectable way, she stormed off, not just from me, but from the whole Singaporean scrum.

i put in four years at journalism school, did several internships, worked with multiple companies in the field. am i overreacting? am i wrong somewhere i don't see?

there'll be people who say i'm letting myself be affected by nothing. i disagree. i think people who adopt that stance are jaded and don't care enough.

there'll be people who say a cordial relationship with local athletes is important. they're missing the point.

simply put, a national athlete is a public figure. like politicians or celebrities, they are responsible to the general populace, a responsibility not at their discretion but expected of.

to quantify it, national athletes are funded by taxpayers. it is of course trickier that foreign-born ones often "cost" more. within just this quantifiable formula alone, national athletes must be accountable.

this incident again throws the spotlight on public figures' unspoken obligations to the media. some newsmakers and members of society believe the media sensationalises things. i dare say, the landscape in Singapore doesn't breed such journalism. it is pathetic there are people who have their heads in the sand.

the press is merely a messenger.

note: this was penned immediately after the incident, and has not been influenced by any subsequent discussion or judgment