It's the same old catch-up game

By the time the Asian Games 2014 draw to a close, the medals tally will look a little different, but its current appearance is telling as far as Thailand is concerned. The Kingdom is struggling against both poorer nations and nations with smaller populations. The excuse at the moment is that the events in which Thai athletes are medal favourites have yet to get into full swing, but that kind of defence might be part of our problem. 

Our sport development has been selective and hampered by politics. Flash-in-the-pan national sentiments when our athletes win something are not helping.

Thais are among the most sport-crazed people in the world. The country is not extremely rich, but we aren't poor either. The population’s size is ideal when it comes to unearthing athletic gems. We have exposure to technology, coaching and other necessities of sporting excellence. So we are left wondering why Thailand’s global (even regional) status in sport has been rather disappointing.

The main cause is the “selective” attitude of everyone involved. Boxing might have received great support, but that only means that, if our boxers fail to perform well at the Olympics or Asian Games, the nation is immediately in danger of embarrassment at the medals presentation. When Thai weightlifters and taekwondo devotees and women’s volleyball team impress on the international stage, the lopsided mentality reaches out to them, but that’s it. We can’t expect all of our children to grow into stars of these same sports. Some of them will prefer to swim or play table tennis. The point is that the powers-that-be need to establish at least a semblance of equality in sport development. This selective attitude has led to the pampering of the sports that carry our medal hopes and virtual ignorance of the rest.

Then we have a problem of national hype when, say, our unsung athletes beat the Chinese or the Japanese. Of course, the public’s adoration can inspire raw sporting talents, but Thai society needs to learn to draw the line. Too much hero worship has several downsides. It can draw youngsters who might be already good at something else into “more popular” sports. It instils the dangerous idea that sport is all about fame and money. Last but not least, the “flash-in-the-pan” attitude has no role in sustainable sports development.

Politics is another stumbling block. Our more-popular sports have been hindered by political power struggles within their government bodies. When considerable energy is poured into winning control of these associations or undermining political enemies, little is left for the genuine development of talents. Worse still, the selection of national athletes has been plagued with charges of political prejudice.

When it comes to sport development, the powers-that-be can work in tandem with the fickle public. State support and assistance normally go to the sports that are stars of the moment, at the expense of less publicised athletics. This has left a several sports sidelined or lacking in continuity in development when the backing ebbs and flows according to success, failure and popularity. 

You can only win or lose, and who are we to compete with the Chinese, South Koreans and Japanese? This is the prevailing attitude among those who defend our sport development. But they don’t consider whether Thailand has done everything it could. Losing after giving everything we have, after all, is very different from losing without even trying.