celebrate humanity...

it has been a saddening afternoon... it was so agonising watching the table tennis semifinals... jia wei lost by a small margin... we were so hopeful of a medal when she led by 3-1, but unfortunately, the comp went the other way for her... it was so close but yet so far... nonetheless, she has given her best shot already and i believe her fighting spirit is really commendable... let's wish her all the best for her 3rd 4th placing match... i hope there won't be a re-enactment of jing jun hong's fate 4 years ago... maybe we're not destined not to get a medal yet... jia you :)

for those ppl who managed to catch a glimpse of seng song's race, u'll know it feels like racing against the world's elites... he did a 10.75 which was slower than his 10.67 timing last sunday at serangoon stdm... he had a very good start and held on for the 1st 50m but faded away aft the 50m mark...

sports is the best way to inculcate patriotism, cuz as a singaporean, we can feel the emotions involved in the match... how many singaporeans actually ended work early to watch susilo's or jia wei's match? how many of them stayed at home specially just to watch the matches? i believe our pm and sm were watching the match intensely too... well, critics can debate among themselves until the cows come home about our athletes not being authentic... but the fact that so many singaporeans supported jing jun hong 4 years ago and jia wei today has proven that it doesn't really matter anymore and i believe their heart is in and with singapore, i dun think they are going for the money cuz the monetary factor will never bring them so far... every singaporean hopes for the day where majulah singapura is played in an olympic medal presentation ceremony... it will be an accomplishment not only by the athlete alone but the whole nation... jia wei will not be alone, 3 million singaporeans will be with her...

however, being an olympian is definitely more than getting a gold medal, getting 1 million dollars, getting another advert contact with big brands or just for publicity sake... it's about realising your purpose, your dream, your passion... it's something that is higher order, something that is intangible... look at athletes like merlene ottey who's 44 yrs this year, she went for 7 olympics but have never won the gold for 100m... i believe that it is this passion in her that made her continue to train even though her prime is long gone...

know your purpose and go for it with passion...

team singapore all the way...