FAIRNESS PERCEPTIONS
As a former competitive table tennis player from 2009 to 2013, conversations with fellow youth paddlers from my cohort often reflected a sense of uneven sacrifice and opportunities. This is closely tied to how citizenship in Singapore is associated with shared obligations – from navigating a competitive education system to, for males, completing National Service.
Some former youth players described themselves as part of an “unlucky generation”. At the time, pathways into the national team were less clearly defined than what is in place today. With that, only a small number of youth players progressed into the national team, while many others ended their sporting aspirations for further studies.
The concerns here are not solely about selection outcomes, but how opportunities are perceived to be allocated. A fast-tracked entry by a foreign-born athlete into the national team can give the impression that the usual process – defined by years of training and sacrifices – has been bypassed, leaving local-born athletes from my time feeling that their aspirations are not equally supported.
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