Tough for Singapore to produce world champs - Badminton ace

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http://www.todayonline.com/sports/tough-singapore-produce-world-champs

World No 1 badminton player Lee Chong Wei reckons that even with a specialised school for developing young sporting talents like Singapore Sports School, it is still difficult for Singapore to regularly produce world-class athletes and world champions.

This is because parents would prefer their children to focus on their studies instead of pursuing sports as a professional career.

“I don’t blame Singapore parents for having this attitude. I am a parent too and I know how important it is for my children to do well in their studies,” said the 31-year-old Malaysian, who has a two-month-old son, Kingston, from his marriage to former Malaysian women’s No 1 Wong Mew Choo.

“As long as this mindset persists, it will be difficult to produce a world champion.

“After all, there is no guarantee that your child, no matter how talented he or she is, will go on to become a champion in sports.

“But people all know that if you work hard in school, the chances of you doing well in life are bright.”

“My country also struggles to produce world-class players consistently even though we have far better training facilities all over the country and a bigger population compared to Singapore. The problem is the same: Studies come first.

“After all, how many countries can be like China? Sports officials there can recruit nine-year-olds and send them for full-time training, and not worry about the child’s future in studies. But Singapore and Malaysia or, for that matter, many other countries won’t do that.”