Grooming local talents will be top priority, says S'pore table tennis chief Lee

SINGAPORE - There were no surprises at the Singapore Table Tennis Association's (STTA) biennial general meeting on Friday night (July 29), as incumbent president Ellen Lee was re-elected unopposed for a second two-year term.

The 59-year-old lawyer, who took over the reins from former chief Lee Bee Wah two years ago, said the 19-member management committee will remain focused on developing the sport here.

Top on their priority list is the grooming and development of local talents for the national men's and women's teams.  "The last two years have been a learning journey for me, and it is very gratifying knowing that all the plans that we put in place have gone well," said Lee.

"You will see even more focus on developing youth and cultivating a stable of juniors and we want them to step up, go for it and we are looking to them for future Olympics...we started the new youth training squad in January 2016 and this will allow STTA to attract youths aged between 13 to 18."

The STTA's policies and programmes have borne some fruit in recent years, with the youth paddlers winning a record-high of 10 gold, five silver and six bronze medals at the recent 22nd SEA Junior Championships.

When asked if the national sports association will also continue to recruit foreing sports talents, Lee said: "The Government has already stopped foreign talents from coming in so it is difficult to attract foreign talent."

She is hopeful that the local players can eventually progress to the international and Olympic level. "We are quite close to achieving that stage of relying more on local talents," she said.

"I hope to see more than one Singaporean player at the next Olympics. If we can send as many as are available, that would be a good achievement."

While the national teams were hit by internal disputes that eventually saw the men's and women's team coaches replaced, Lee is confident that the issues have been resolved, particularly with the paddlers heading to the Rio Olympics next month to defend the two bronze medals that they won at the 2012 London Games.

"The unhappiness with the coach and players is nothing new in sports. The important thing is to identify the issues and confront them, and take the necessary steps to resolve the unhappiness."

Last night's BGM at the Toa Payoh Central Community Club saw three new faces elected into the 19-member committee, while deputy presidents Alex Yam and David Sim were re-elected uncontested for another term.