STTA’s decision to axe Feng Tianwei a shock and surprise to many

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Table Tennis Association’s (STTA) decision to axe Feng Tianwei has been met with “shock and surprise” by the local sporting fraternity.

While recent results — which include a shock loss at last year’s SEA Games and her failure to win a medal at this year’s Olympics — have not gone the three-time Olympic medallist’s way, many are still stunned that the STTA has decided not renew her contract when it expires on Oct 31.

“This is a very drastic move. She has won a lot of honours for Singapore ... to just cut her like this instead of preparing a path for her, and preparing her to be a coach ... it comes as a huge shock to me,” former Singapore Athletics (SA) president Tang Weng Fei told TODAY.

“What I am also surprised about is that it seems she’s being told of the news a week before her contract expires. This seems to indicate that there are some issues between the association and the player that we don’t know about.”

A sports official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “I think this is a bold and decisive move by the STTA and the president Ellen Lee. It shows who is boss.

“The message it effectively sends out to the players is that they had better think twice about how they conduct themselves. This is the STTA getting its house in order, and it is a strong statement of intent.”

Team Singapore athletes TODAY spoke to were also stunned. Said retired national shuttler Vanessa Neo: “She’s one of the best players in the country, and there was no sign beforehand that this would happen.”

Added national sprinter Calvin Kang: “She’s been a mainstay and has achieved so much, but I think there might be other reasons behind the scenes that we’re not aware of that contributed to this decision.”

Thomas Koh, the father of a budding local table tennis player, hopes this means the STTA would put more focus on grooming local talent.

“It’s a brave move by the STTA. But we read that the STTA are looking at the younger generation to carry the Singapore flag, so I hope they will maybe put more focus on local players going forward,” he said.