Without govt funding Thai athletes will never shine out

Without govt funding Thai athletes will never shine out

By Asean standards Thai atheletes did not perform badly at the London 2012 Olympic Games. They won two silvers and one bronze, while Indonesia and Malaysia each won only a silver and a bronze.

But on the darker side, our overall performance was below par even if light flyweight boxer Kaew Pongprayoon was robbed of the gold by the referee and judges. We did not match our achievements at the Beijing Games four years ago, two golds and two silvers.

In the 16 years since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, when featherweight boxer Somluck Khamsing stood tall with the country’s first ever gold medal,  Thailand has won gold at each Olympics, with three golds at the Athens Games in 2004.

Thailand's Kaeo Pongprayoon (in blue) reacts upon his points decision loss to Shiming Zou of China following their Light Flyweight (49kg) boxing final of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the ExCel Arena Aug 11, 2012. (AFP Photo)

We might take consolation by crying “we wuz robbed” of a gold for Kaew, but that issue is just a distraction from a greater and more important issue – the overall performance of our atheletes in the London was below that of  more recent Games. And if this situation is allowed to persist, we may win fewer medals overall, or even none at all, in Rio de Janeiro four years from now.

It is an open fact that our governments, from past to present, have paid little attention to the promotion of sports. This was clearly reflected in the budgets allocated to sport associations, making it impossible for them to arrange for proper training and preparation for their atheletes.

Thailand fielded only 37 competitors at London 2012, and in sports which have the prospect for medals such as boxing, weightlifting and taekwando. This might stem from the fact that other sport associations did not have any the funding for the training and upkeep of their atheletes.

To compete in the Olympic Games, training for atheletes is a full-time job that can consume more than eight hours a day, every day, leaving little time for other employment if they want any chance of success. The question arises, how these athletes support themselves. For most athletes, sponsorship is a form of survival, especially those who compete in non-paying events such as the Olympic Games. Sponsorship can cover the cost of living and training for amateur atheletes in several different forms including private, corporate, and team ownership.

In the US, once athletes have secured funding to pursue their dream of winning gold at the Olympics, they sometimes move to an Olympic training facility in preparation for the Games. The United States Olympic Committee runs three major training centres for elite American athletes, providing the best training in the finest facilities in the world. US  athletes preparing for the Olympic Games, the Paralympics and the Pan-Am Games often live at one of the US training centres for months or even years. Other athletes visit the facilities occasionally for training camps, coaching and physical testing.

Despite the best training facilities, American families who want to prepare their children to become great athletes often have to dig deep into their pockets to pay for the training, which is not cheap unless they have the sponsorships.

It is a totally different case in China, where the government is the chief sponsor of atheletes with good prospects. The atheletes are paid and taken good care of by the state, but  they have to undergo a very rigid and harsh training programme unlike anywhere else in the world. Which explains why their atheletes have an unrelenting appetite for hard work, can (and will) endure more pain for longer than their Western counterparts, are guaranteed to turn up for practice every single time and give their all. They are very proud of their country, they are proud to represent China and have a very team focused mentality.

We may not have to copy the Chinese way of how to produce world-class atheletes, but we can learn from them, such as sponsorships for our atheletes so they can focus on training without worrying how to make a living and how to motivate the atheletes to work hard and to feel proud of representing the country.

But foremost of all is the question: how serious and committed is our government to sports promotion and the preparation for our atheletes for international competition -- be it the Olympics, Asian Games or SEA Games? Without that commitment and, of course, the much-needed financial support to fund the best training, there is slim chance that our atheletes will ever be able to compete with much success against the best sportsmen and sportswomen from other countries.

Veera Prateepchaikul

Former Editor

Former Bangkok Post Editor, political commentator and a regular columnist at Post Publishing.

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