Blog Entry 3: The Right of Sportsmen

In the recently concluded Olympics, we see the Chinese dominating every other country in the overall gold medal tally. This tremendous feat is accomplished, even with many Chinese-versus-Chinese matches.

That means that China has more than enough human talent to acquire its top seat on the medal table, with the excess flocking to other countries to represent them, such as Singapore's entirely foreign China born table tennis team. Now I shall examine how this comes about.

China has suffered an inferiority complex against the West ever since the Opium war where China fell to the West. Since then, China began the long arduous journey of reclaiming her lost reputatation, by striving for superiority over Western countries. Sports was one of the ways of doing so.

Thus, China created a medal-winning-machine. With an army of talent scouts, and a huge government-sponsored budget, China picks the best talents and genes, even picking the most suitable body shape and structure, and people with the right mentality etc. This nearly perfect people are then perfected, by being sent off to training camps at a tender age, where they will live for the rest of their lives, their entire future, having been decided when they were spotted by the talent scouts.

Unfortunately for them, they are not the only ones. Many have been chosen by the talent scouts, but only a few will be given the opportunity to represent China. Those who do not make it, are still of a very high standard, given the size of the country and thus, its talent pool, and given the immense training they have gone through. Given a chance to represent another country, they will achieve success. Having invested, sacrificed and risked so much, it means the world to them to achieve success in their sport. Therefore, without a doubt, they will take that chance.

Thus, in today's sporting arena, Chinese represent many more countries apart from their homeland. And with this phenomena, there is much debate and controversy about foreign-born sportsmen representing countries for the Olympics.

In my opinion, we have to attempt to reach a conclusion on this issue with two tiers. Firstly, on the "rights" of sportsmen. "Rights" is used because they are not official, unlike the normal human rights. But I feel that these rights are equally important, given the nature of a sportsman in today's highly competitive context. For sportsmen, sports is no longer a job or profession, it has evolved into an activity their life revolves around, an obsession.

This is especially so with Chinese sportsmen. Their "education" (which is training) begins at 4 and ends around 18. Due to the short period where the physical ability of a person peaks, their career spans only a few years, from 18 to 25. Having devoted one's childhood and paid so much in terms of opportunity costs, that short time in the career means everything to a sportsman.

Therefore, if they fail to represent their country for one Olympics, they cannot simply wait and hope to do better and qualify for the next. Four years is too precious, considering how little time they have. The Olympics are the highest platform for sports, the most important test, whether they make it or break it, it seperates the successful from the mediocre, it decides whether their life's work pays off, or whether it was all a waste. Their only chance, is to find a way to compete in the Olympics, which means representing a foreign country.

Having sacrificed so much, they have earned the privilege for a fighting chance to achieve glory and success. But considering the tremendous amount of work required to earn that privilege, the blood, sweat and tears shed, that is more than a privilege, entirely worthy to be deemed a right, which it is. Thus, I have proven to you the "right" of these sportsmen and that right can only be fulfilled by representing a foreign country.

On the second tier, I shall examine the nature of the sporting event. What is the purpose of the Olympics? A platform for the sportsmen or the countries? If it is for the sportsmen, it means that they get to fulfill their right, as long as they are of sufficient calibre to be wanted by foreign countries and to represent them.

But this is unfeasible, given the status quo where the Olympics is a platform where countries, not sportsmen compete. Evidence for this is the hype that is given to the countries leading the medal tables. But is it fair? When the right of athletes is infringed upon, where they make the sacrifice for their country and get no reward or compensation when they are not allowed to achieve their full potential and fulfill their right, it is not fair, and definitely not right.

But the Olympics will stay this way. As George Orwell said, "Serious sport is war minus the shooting." Sports is war amongst the overly nationalistic, xenophobic countries. It is a pseudo-war amongst countries as they strive to prove their superiority over others, and be victorious in the arena of sports. Therefore, the Olympics will stay as a platform for countries to battle.

In that case, it is long overdue that we create a platform for sportsmen, one which is the epitome of sports and the human limit, one where their well-deserved right can be fulfilled, one where sportsmen will compete as individuals and not for their countries. A platform like the Olympics, where sportsmen can achieve the success and glory that they have toiled for, yet one where their right can be fulfilled.

It is time this be done, time we stop this disgusting, atrocious abuse of human rights, the right of sportsmen.