Support local talent, but don’t knock athletes born overseas

Amid the Schooling-mania hitting fever pitch, there have been callous criticism and even abuse of our foreign-born sports talents, including those who have won medals and brought glory to Singapore in the past, in various media and public places.

At a time of celebration for winning our first Olympic gold, it was unfortunate that some of us tried to find fault with our foreign-born athletes and the policy of importing them to boost our sports.

We should not expect all of them to win a medal at every competition; their qualification for international competitions is an accomplishment per se (“Rethink strategy for achieving sporting glory”; Aug 19).

Importing talents has been a strategy used by nations worldwide to enhance their chances of winning medals, boost their global standing in sport and raise interest among their citizens in specific sports.

A decade ago, Japan rebuilt its rugby team by importing players from New Zealand and Tonga despite criticism of the move. The strategy helped Japan top the Asian Games in rugby in 2006, 2010 and 2014.

Its rugby sevens team in the Rio Games had some foreign-born players. They enabled Japan to secure fourth spot, and the Japanese are proud of this achievement.

In the Australian table tennis team at these Games, foreign-born talents account for half of the team. Australians are proud to have them compete for their nation, regardless of whether they won medals or not.

We should give top priority to nurturing local talents and give them all the support they need.

But we should not be inward-looking to the extent of victimising foreign-born talents when they do not win medals in tough competitions such as the Olympics.

I hope that, not far in the future, the number of Singaporean athletes who qualify for the Olympics will double. That itself would be an achievement.