Lacklustre Thailand in a sporting twilight zone

By The Nation

 

 

Asian Games underline the need for long-term vision 

 

Thai sports authorities should take to heart the business motto “Only the paranoid survive”.

 

The Asian Games gave Thailand some scary visions of the future, well beyond the increasingly acknowledged claim that our athletes remain stuck in the middle between the continent’s best and worst performers. The real problem is that, while the gap between our players and theirs remains largely unchanged, the gap separating Thais from weaker rivals seems to be disappearing fast.

 

The rankings on the medal table don’t necessarily reflect this latter gap. Myanmar’s footballers defeated Iran and the much-ridiculed Bangladeshis won against Qatar. The gap keeping Thailand squarely in the middle was illustrated again amid dashed hopes, with rude awakenings jolting sports like badminton and Thai athletes proving to be far from the leaders in track and field.

 

Our sports-development efforts appear focused on keeping Thailand the “conqueror of the SEA Games”. There’s apparent contentment at being the big fish in the small pond of Southeast Asia. It’s a pragmatic outlook, but it reflects an inferiority complex and, worse, it attaches greater priority to short-term plans and ignores the need for patience, always a crucial factor in sports development.

 

Football is a good example. The focus of the Thai Football Association is not on laying a solid foundation by training youngsters but on getting the best out of known talents and on the short-term goal of winning tournaments this year or next. Some quite telltale statements emerged from the FA after Thailand’s shock failure at the Asian Games. It seemed to blame the coach and players while claiming credit for facilitating the team’s travels and accommodation. 

 

Our politicians year after year ignore the need to improve the national education system because that’s not where the votes are. It’s the same with laying the foundation for future sports. That’s not what gets the fans cheering. No one’s going to remember who discovered and sponsored the Thai athlete who wins an unexpected gold medal at a future Olympics. The talent scout will get no credit at all.

 

So sporting excellence in Thailand has little to do with groundwork. Our world-renowned golfers had to rely on their parents. Our gilded badminton players counted on their individual commitment more than help from sports authorities. The authorities never even spoke about women’s volleyball 10 years ago. Excellence in sport should come because of the administrators, not in spite of them. What’s been happening in Thailand indicates there is much yet to be desired where the authorities are concerned.

 

It might help to be paranoid, but it helps more to be aware that the catchy phrase “only the paranoid survive” is commonly misinterpreted. It’s not about an endeavour’s worth being measured by its short-term success. A little paranoia should have generous long-term vision accompanying it. Thailand, conqueror of the SEA Games, was being too paranoid about failing to meet its Asian Games medal targets to attach sufficient importance to building a solid talent foundation for the future.

 

Disappointment over the number of gold medals brought home from Indonesia will of course influence planning. We’d like to see everyone gather around the drawing board, mapping out ways to ensure that today’s kids – who care little about the 2018 Asian Games – can carry the Thai torch to future victories. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30353571

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-03

It the same all over Thailand: short-term planning rules because you can be caught for your corruption tomorrow, or someone with better connections wants your job, so better that the most out of today with no regards for the day after.

Perhaps the IOC could agree to reduce the Olympics and all other international competitions to just 3 sports - ladies golf, ladies badminton and ladies weightlifting.

The only thing that the sports field at our local school is used for is grazing cattle!

6 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

The only thing that the sports field at our local school is used for is grazing cattle!

Stop insulting the teachers,  they do their best, 

18 minutes ago, Darcula said:

Perhaps the IOC could agree to reduce the Olympics and all other international competitions to just 3 sports - ladies golf, ladies badminton and ladies weightlifting.

Ladies volleyball to as  Thai ladies are good at that but should be dressed more like Brazilian ladies beach volleyball members to increase the viewing figures.

 

 

 

 

This lack of early development is the cause of many wxo omic and political woes. As the country powers towards Thailand 0.4 the issue of lacking fundamentals will hurt the country more palpably.

Really, what difference does it make?  I find it interesting that being the best at sports is probably viewed as more important that being the best in education or innovation.  Which is more important? 
I actually know the answer to that.  How many scientists get a $25 to 70 million dollar <or equivalent> 10 year contract in their profession? 
Globally, that's the way it works, sad as it may be.

Edited September 3, 20187 yr by connda

3 hours ago, Esso49 said:

Ladies volleyball to as  Thai ladies are good at that but should be dressed more like Brazilian ladies beach volleyball members to increase the viewing figures.

 

 

 

 

The Thai women's volleyball team is pretty good actually, they can give anyone in the world a run for their money, I know this 'cos the wife forces me to watch it. Some of the players are hot though so I don't mind  ?