Singapore's Feng Tianwei wins individual Olympic medal: London 2012 Olympics

By Terrence Voon, The Straits Times, 2 Aug 2012

LONDON - After 52 long years and three consecutive agonising near misses, Singapore have done it.

A table-tennis singles medal, which had proven so elusive all these years, was finally captured by Feng Tianwei at the London Olympics last night.

Bronze was the colour of the medal she won when she trounced Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa 4-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5) in the third-place play-off to put Singapore on the medal standings in London.

But it must have felt like solid gold. No Singaporean paddler had ever won an Olympic table-tennis singles medal, and no one had taken home an individual honour since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang's silver in 1960.

"My form hasn't been too good - everyone knows this," said Feng, who won a team silver for Singapore at the 2008 Olympics but had struggled with consistency in the build-up to the London Games. "That's why I didn't have too high hopes for the Olympics. But today, I showed that I could do it. Maybe I need to believe in myself more."

Yesterday, with a medal on the line, at the exact same stage where Jing Junhong (Sydney 2000) and Li Jiawei (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008) faltered, Feng triumphed.

In front of a 6,000 capacity crowd at the ExCel Arena, which included President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Deputy Prime Minister and Singapore National Olympic Council president Teo Chee Hean, the 25-year-old ended the unwanted streak.

She made it look easy too - 52 years of suffering was history in just 29 stunning minutes as she showed off her full array of topspin forehands and angled smashes that the Japanese had no answer for.

When Ishikawa's return on matchpoint clipped the net and out of the table, the winner simply clenched her right fist - and smiled.

Perhaps she held back, knowing that the task is only half accomplished. Tomorrow morning, she will be joined by Wang Yuegu and Li Jiawei for an assault on the Olympic women's team title.


But history is at Feng's feet now. She is the Republic's first double-Olympic medallist.

Said President Tan: "Tianwei's victory today is a historic day for Singapore table tennis and for Singapore sport. I think what Tianwei has achieved today shows what is possible. I hope it will inspire more young Singaporeans to aspire to do likewise."

Simply Feng-tastic

WHILE I am proud that table tennis star Feng Tianwei has won Singapore's first individual medal in the Olympics in 52 years ("S'pore win individual Olympic medal"; yesterday), I am also saddened by some negative reactions harping on the fact that she is imported talent.

My great-grandparents were from China, so that should make me a foreign import as well.

Singapore embraces people of all races and different countries, and this is what makes us special.

Our open-minded welcome is the main reason people everywhere choose to come here to start families and new lives.

We should be proud of this.

I teach English in a primary school and I was cheered by the fact that most of my pupils consider Feng a Singaporean, rather than foreign talent.

Children, unlike adults, learn and accept the multiracial complexion of Singapore.

They celebrate Racial Harmony Day and International Friendship Day.

But adults, by their behaviour, teach children differently.

National Day is less than a week away; that is when we celebrate our unity despite our diversity.

So, well done, Feng, and let the Singapore flag fly high!

Eunice Ang-Choo Sok Ee (Mrs)
ST Forum, 3 Aug 2012

Well worth the 52-year wait for Olympic individual medal

WE HAVE waited 52 years for an individual Olympic medal, since Tan Howe Liang won a silver in weightlifting at the 1960 Rome Olympics ("S'pore win individual Olympic medal"; yesterday).

It was a sensational display of grit and determination when Feng Tianwei clinched the individual bronze in table tennis decisively.

She was composed and did it in fine style by defeating her Japanese opponent without dropping a set. The victory must have been sweeter given the fact that her opponent was ranked two notches higher.

I congratulate Feng on her sterling performances and the honour she has brought to Singapore.
Bennie Cheok
ST Forum, 3 Aug 2012

The weight of Feng's deed is huge for Singapore
By Rohit Brijnath, The Straits Times, 2 Aug 2012

FENG Tianwei could have used a hardback book as a racket, a champagne cork as a ball and played on Kasumi Ishikawa's dining table yesterday and still she would have won. She was that good, that fast, that focused, that aggressive.

It was as if in a packed stadium in the country of whiff-whaff, with cameras clicking, people fidgeting, flags waving, she saw nothing but the ball and heard nothing but her voice whispering to herself. It told her, she said: "Be calm, be stable." It was a performance of such fine dominance that when she chatted to her coach after the third game, the only subject could have been dinner.

Singapore has a bronze. It's not too heavy to hold, but its weight is considerable. Over 200 nations are jousting at these Games; only 40, at last glance, had won anything.

Everyone trains, pushes, sweats, wants, but there are only so many medals and eventually too many disintegrated dreams. But this was Feng's time, in a year in which she hasn't won a tournament, but in a Games where she has flowered. In every way last night, her timing was sound.

Yesterday, a Radio France International journalist was quizzing her. Yesterday, locals from the docklands were familiarising themselves with a flag we see every day. Yesterday, a British soldier in fatigues posed with her. Yesterday, at the Olympics, Singapore mattered a little more.

History is built medal by medal. Slowly and patiently. Singapore now has three and many nations have none since 1896. A medal is celebration yet also relief. Mostly for the athlete who invests and partially for the public who wait.

Everyone wants evidence. That the journey is worth it, that sport matters, that money has been wisely spent, that excellence in some measure is possible. Feng now knows all this and so do we. One might say she has offered us the gift of proof.

Feng wore a blue shirt, blue tape on her wrist, blue tape on her arm. Then she saw red, partly because Ishikawa was wearing it.

The table sat in the middle of a wide hall, lit up by a cavalry of spotlights. For all the commotion, it is a lonely place. Right then, Feng could go to no one for help but herself which is the essence of individual sport. She lost the first point of the match but through it all never her nerve.

Table tennis is played in a confined area - smallest of the four major racket sports - but at an unusually hectic pace within that space. With Feng it seemed like warp speed with exquisite control. She simply seemed faster than Ishikawa, who is 19 and has a ball toss that threatened to disappear into the rafters. Forlorn to the point where she needed a hug, Ishikawa was not at her best and Feng never shifted from hers.

Feng pumped her fist, she squealed, but when she won her response seemed muted. As if all her emotional energy, the key to this Games, had been exhausted. She waved, acknowledged spectators and swiftly texted (to whom "is a secret"). The Singapore flag went up and the Chariots of Fire played. Singapore was on the move in London.

Everyone will want to touch her medal for it seems to emit a mysterious magnetism. But one day, in the months ahead, after she has shown it off in London, and had it inspected in Singapore, she will carry it to a graveyard in Harbin.

It is where her father lies, it is where she once told me she takes her medals. As if in offering, in thanks, in respect. A nation looks up at her today, but certainly a dad was fondly looking down.

Bronze medal should be cheered, not jeered
By Marc Lim, The Straits Times, 3 Aug 2012

A MEDAL at the Olympic Games should be enough of a reason to celebrate.

It should unite a nation, fill its citizens with pride as they watch the national flag being hoisted on sport's biggest stage.

In many ways, Feng Tianwei's bronze medal at the London Olympics on Wednesday night did that.

Yet, in pockets around Singapore, Feng's feat was greeted with cyncism for one reason: that she is a foreign-born athlete.

As of 10pm yesterday, a post about her win on The Straits Times' Facebook page attracted 152 comments.

While the majority were positive notes offering their congratulations and support, a small minority chose to focus on the fact that she was born in China and came to Singapore only in 2007. The medal means little to them because she is an import, and not a "real" Singaporean, they say.

The jeering was louder on the HardwareZone forum and in comments posted on Yahoo! Singapore, incidentally on a story titled "Singapore applauds Feng's Olympic medal win".

The paddler was the subject of more flak yesterday when a video of her throwing her victory bouquet into a spectator stand packed mostly with Chinese appeared online. Some said this showed her loyalties to Singapore were questionable, although this seemed to be reading more into it than might be warranted.

Yet, just as loud were of those hitting back at the negativity.

One post on ST's Facebook page summed up the sentiments aptly.

It read: "To those who questions her nationality: she has a pink nric like you and me. she did more than the average Singaporeans by putting Singapore on the world map and makes Singapore proud. You? what have you done to make Singapore proud of you? Shame on you."

Grumbling about foreign-born athletes is not new. It first surfaced when the Singapore Sports Council introduced a foreign-talent scheme in 1999.

It returned in 2008, when Feng, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu won the women's team silver at the Beijing Games. Now, it is back.

But what is refreshing is that some Singaporeans seem to be saying enough is enough, and making the case that athletes who do the country proud should be honoured, regardless of where they were born.

At the Welcome coffeeshop along Yishun Ring Road on Wednesday night, about 100 Singaporeans of Malay, Chinese and Indian descent watched as Feng flew Singapore's flag.

Production operator Fazli Mohad travelled from his Woodlands home just to be part of the screening, which was organised by the Singapore Table Tennis Association. The 27-year-old left a happy man, saying: "Watching the win with my countrymen, I'll not forget this moment."

Naturalised athletes are hardly a Singapore invention. These days, they are commonplace. There are at least eight foreign-born athletes representing Britain at this Olympics. Even Olympic powerhouse the United States relies on foreign-born talent. Bernard Lagat won two Olympic medals for Kenya (2000, 2004) in the 1,500m. In London, he is going for a third, but with the letters USA on his vest.

You hardly hear the British and Americans slamming their own. It's time we did the same. Feng was sent to the Olympics as part of Team Singapore. She trains and sweats for Singapore, and when she wins, Singapore wins.

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