Sportsmanship

Hello all. To my Singaporean audience, I'm sure some of you have been keeping up with recent sports events, such as the recent Singapore v.s. Malaysia match in the qualifier rounds. Singapore beat Malaysia 5-3 in one match, and drew 1-1 in the next to progress to the next round of qualifying matches in the World Cup. Some Malaysians, unhappy with the defeat, attempted to use underhanded means to steal the rightful victory from Singapore. Green laser pointer lights were shone at the Singapore team's goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud during a crucial free kick in an attempt to crack the Lion's strong defense. Furthermore, some Malaysian fans taunted the Singaporean fans with jeers of "Singapore dogs" and threw bottles at them. This has raised the vital question of sportsmanship. Is the next generation going to be so focused on winning that they forget their moral values?

Sportsmanship means to be fair in following the rules of the game. If one loses, one congratulates the winning team and does not begrudge them the win. If one wins, one commends the losing team on their valiant effort in trying to win. To be a sportsman does not mean just to be proficient in a certain sport. It also means understanding and displaying the underlying moral values of sports that should be inculcated into all who truly respect the sport. Sportsmen want to win, but they do not result to unscrupulous means to do so. I think this is the true beauty of sports: the human element.

I think, in the above scenario, the act of cheating definitely was not justified. The match was being held in Bukit Jalil National Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysians already had the advantage of home ground. Of course, the normal exchange of jaunts and attempts at intimidating the opposing team was inevitable. It is a commonplace occurence at soccer matches all around the world, especially one as important as the qualifiers for the World Cup. However, I think the Malaysians definitely did not need to stoop as low as attempting to sabotage the Singapore team's defense, throwing bottles at the Singaporean fans with intention of bodily harm or taunting the Singaporeans by calling them dogs. I feel the Malaysians should be more accepting of the loss, which resulted from completely clean play on the Singaporean side and an arsenal of underhand tricks from the Malaysian side. I am not just speaking in my capacity as a Singaporean. While I am enraged by the fact that Malaysia, which has fostered close relations with Singapore over the half century we have been independent, I am looking at the situation as an observer. If the Malaysian team really wanted to win that badly, there were many alternatives to cheating. They could have trained harder, recruited better players and studied the weaknesses of the Singaporean team more. The fact that they tried to take the easy way out shows that they were just too lazy to put in more effort and thusly do not deserve the win.

However, I do not think it is right to fight fire with fire. The Malaysian team may have been less than accepting of the win on the Singaporean side and insulted Singapore by saying it is "nothing without foreign players". The Malaysian fans were extremely unhappy about the loss. The Singaporean fans may have been attacked. Does that give Singaporeans the right to stoop to their level and retaliate? I do not think so. Just because someone may have been wronged, does it mean that he is justified to take the law into his own hands and retaliate? No. The Singaporean who hacked into the Malaysian football website is not only showing that he is incapable of ignoring meaningless insults, he is also damaging relations between Singapore and Malaysia even further. If nobody on the Singaporean side had retaliated, Singapore would have been completely justified in accusing Malaysia of being the agressor. Now the matter has been complicated as Malaysia now has a counter-argument to Singapore's accusations. Instead of being resolved in a relatively short period of time, the matter is likely to drag on longer.

To end off, here is an edited quote from Shakespeare in his play, The Merchant of Venice.

"The quality of sportsmanship is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes." So may you be also a sportsman, and not only enjoy sports more, but allow others to enjoy it more as well.