It's the same old catch-up game

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL
It's the same old catch-up game
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Unsurprisingly, Thailand remains small on the big sporting stage; the flaw is in our efforts to develop the athletes

By the time the Asian Games 2014 draw to a close, the medals tally will look a little different, but its current appearance is telling as far as Thailand is concerned. The Kingdom is struggling against both poorer nations and nations with smaller populations. The excuse at the moment is that the events in which Thai athletes are medal favourites have yet to get into full swing, but that kind of defence might be part of our problem.

Our sport development has been selective and hampered by politics. Flash-in-the-pan national sentiments when our athletes win something are not helping.

Thais are among the most sport-crazed people in the world. The country is not extremely rich, but we aren’t poor either. The population's size is ideal when it comes to unearthing athletic gems. We have exposure to technology, coaching and other necessities of sporting excellence. So we are left wondering why Thailand's global (even regional) status in sport has been rather disappointing.

The main cause is the "selective" attitude of everyone involved. Boxing might have received great support, but that only means that, if our boxers fail to perform well at the Olympics or Asian Games, the nation is immediately in danger of embarrassment at the medals presentation. When Thai weightlifters and taekwondo devotees and women's volleyball team impress on the international stage, the lopsided mentality reaches out to them, but that's it. We can't expect all of our children to grow into stars of these same sports. Some of them will prefer to swim or play table tennis. The point is that the powers-that-be need to establish at least a semblance of equality in sport development. This selective attitude has led to the pampering of the sports that carry our medal hopes and virtual ignorance of the rest.

Then we have a problem of national hype when, say, our unsung athletes beat the Chinese or the Japanese. Of course, the public's adoration can inspire raw sporting talents, but Thai society needs to learn to draw the line. Too much hero worship has several downsides. It can draw youngsters who might be already good at something else into "more popular" sports. It instils the dangerous idea that sport is all about fame and money. Last but not least, the "flash-in-the-pan" attitude has no role in sustainable sports development.

Politics is another stumbling block. Our more-popular sports have been hindered by political power struggles within their government bodies. When considerable energy is poured into winning control of these associations or undermining political enemies, little is left for the genuine development of talents. Worse still, the selection of national athletes has been plagued with charges of political prejudice.

When it comes to sport development, the powers-that-be can work in tandem with the fickle public. State support and assistance normally go to the sports that are stars of the moment, at the expense of less publicised athletics. This has left a several sports sidelined or lacking in continuity in development when the backing ebbs and flows according to success, failure and popularity.

You can only win or lose, and who are we to compete with the Chinese, South Koreans and Japanese? This is the prevailing attitude among those who defend our sport development. But they don't consider whether Thailand has done everything it could. Losing after giving everything we have, after all, is very different from losing without even trying.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Its-the-same-old-catch-up-game-30244206.html

-- The Nation 2014-09-27

[NongKhaiKid]

I blame the Thai Ladies Beach Volleyball Team as they were wearing sports bikinis and we know what kind of bad example that sets.

[jcisco]

I blame the Thai Ladies Beach Volleyball Team as they were wearing sports bikinis and we know what kind of bad example that sets.

Damn you are able to swing straight into a morning with sarcasm and cynical commentary.. You do your best work in the mornings, or better as the day and news progresses

[NongKhaiKid]

I blame the Thai Ladies Beach Volleyball Team as they were wearing sports bikinis and we know what kind of bad example that sets.

Damn you are able to swing straight into a morning with sarcasm and cynical commentary.. You do your best work in the mornings, or better as the day and news progresses

Thanks, and funnily enough my ex-GF used to say i did my best work in the morning too but I always suspected it was because she was half asleep and wasn't able to form an accurate assessment

[Jeremy50]

No, it's not about winning or losing, it's about playing the game. And most Thais, especially above school age , are not in the slightest bit interested in playing any sport, and are among the most sedentary people in the world.

[IamNoone88]

The headline, "Its the same old catchup game", caught my eye. I thought it was going to be article on education, healthcare, crime, foreign investment ........ etc. Nope.

[jaltsc]

"Thais are among the most sport-crazed people in the world."

"Sport-crazed"...If you mean sitting in front of the TV with your friends all day watching the boxing matches, drinking alcohol, and waiting for your wife to come home from work and prepare dinner for you, instead of actually doing some exercise (going to the fridge for another beer doesn't count), playing a sport or just walking around the neighborhood...Then, yes, they are sport-crazed. Also, sending your overweight kid on his motor bike to 7-11 to pick you up some snacks while buying a Big Gulp for himself, does not constitute exercise on his part.

[deckape]

There doesn't seem to be much organized sport for youth, a key part of recognizing and developing talent.

With a relatively small country as this, national high school championships could be held in volleyball, football etc. Do they have such a thing?

[jaltsc]

There doesn't seem to be much organized sport for youth, a key part of recognizing and developing talent.

With a relatively small country as this, national high school championships could be held in volleyball, football etc. Do they have such a thing?

It's a matter of priorities. The Netherlands is a relatively small country, but their idea of "sport-crazed" is going out and training to be the best. Just look at how they dominated the speed skating events at the Winter Olympics, or their football team coming in third place at the World Cup. All this against competitors from much larger countries.

[JOC]

There doesn't seem to be much organized sport for youth, a key part of recognizing and developing talent.

With a relatively small country as this, national high school championships could be held in volleyball, football etc. Do they have such a thing?

It's a matter of priorities. The Netherlands is a relatively small country, but their idea of "sport-crazed" is going out and training to be the best. Just look at how they dominated the speed skating events at the Winter Olympics, or their football team coming in third place at the World Cup. All this against competitors from much larger countries.

"Just look at how they dominated the speedskating events"

Who was competing: Holland and Norway??

But credit for a fantastic soccer-team!!

[deckape]

There is an opinion I've developed about the culture here. There can be a lot of enthusiasm for things but not much passion (except for a few institutions). To be world class at just about anything takes a certain amount of passion. I'm talking about training till you puke, working a problem till it drives you crazy, that sort of thing.

This is not a knock on the people here, often times people's shortcomings can also give insight into their strengths. An absence of passion can open the door to a cool heart and a satisfied kind of contentment.

[Strangebrew]

The biggest countries lose sometimes in there main or home sport.take the US basketball there were beaten before several times too and they used pro's. Mauy Thai Thai by far excel in it but put into an event like MMA fighting then different story. What is is needed is the joy to compete. Winning is only part of it. Yeah we all want to win, but in life it isn't that way. If your perfect then what would drive you to get better?

[12DrinkMore]

There are two problems to be overcome.

1. Loss of Face.

The very fragile and easily damaged ego cannot be put at risk. So better to not compete at all.

2. Inability to fix things outside of Thailand.

Although it has been achieved. The Thai female skiiing team, Vanessa-Mae, an extremely wealthy young lady, did manage to qualify for the Olympics. In the process unfortunately causing four Slovanian ski competition organisers to get a four year ban for fixing the qualifying races.

[casindonet]

No, it's not about winning or losing, it's about playing the game. And most Thais, especially above school age , are not in the slightest bit interested in playing any sport, and are among the most sedentary people in the world.

They are more interested in betting on the game....

[tullynagardy]

Not PC to say maybe but alot of this is genetic. Many of these countries just don`t make fast runners or swimmers. If you google the 100 metres in past Asian games note how it is dominated by the tiny African population of Arab states. These guys are simply naturally faster.

[rubl]

"Thais are among the most sport-crazed people in the world."

"Sport-crazed"...If you mean sitting in front of the TV with your friends all day watching the boxing matches, drinking alcohol, and waiting for your wife to come home from work and prepare dinner for you, instead of actually doing some exercise (going to the fridge for another beer doesn't count), playing a sport or just walking around the neighborhood...Then, yes, they are sport-crazed. Also, sending your overweight kid on his motor bike to 7-11 to pick you up some snacks while buying a Big Gulp for himself, does not constitute exercise on his part.

Mostly spot-on, but somehow you seem to have forgotten one very important aspect of Thai sport-craze.

The ability to bet

[Oziex1]

No, it's not about winning or losing, it's about playing the game. And most Thais, especially above school age , are not in the slightest bit interested in playing any sport, and are among the most sedentary people in the world.

So a powerful stimulant like yaba must confuse the hell out of them.

[Mudcrab]

Why do I get visions of overweight expats watching soccer/football/grid iron drinking beer and stuffing their faces whining about Thais sitting around drinking and watching sport on the television?

[Thai at Heart]

Thais are among the most sport-crazed people in the world.

Where on earth do they get this idea from. They like watching other people play so they can gamble and drink, but really, what percentage of adults play sport in Thailand?

[aboctok]

No, it's not about winning or losing, it's about playing the game. And most Thais, especially above school age , are not in the slightest bit interested in playing any sport, and are among the most sedentary people in the world.

Not the slightest interest? You must live in one of those specially proclaimed sedentary provinces. The walking/running tracks, fitness centres, and outdoor aerobics venues are packed out every single evening. At multiple locations around town, where many participants are so old, they can only shuffle. I'm constantly on the lookout for a less-congested gym, so I don't have to wait to use equipment. I know of one vast new sports centre, and there's another one under construction, with a pool. You can't use a major road in the afternoon without seeing a squad of Tour de France-style riders. Every night, the ping-pong runs late, and the stadium lights are on until nearly midnight, with plenty of hearty cheering; kids run around non-stop, and play badminton in the streets! Lol, what more do you want?!

PS: Last week, I saw that someone had even cleaned out and reactivated the old petanque club, going to the extent of getting t-shirts printed. They're the newer group; the ones at the other petanque ground are all oldies. o_O

[aboctok]

Why do I get visions of overweight expats watching soccer/football/grid iron drinking beer and stuffing their faces whining about Thais sitting around drinking and watching sport on the television?

555 indeed.