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MORE PROBLEMS: Dong Enxin may have qualified for the SEA Games shot put event, but he has been in poor form. -- BH FILE PHOTO
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SINGAPORE shot-putter Dong Enxin, a South-east Asia Games medal hopeful, has gone AWOL.
Last month, the 26-year-old left for China without the permission of the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA).
And the 2003 SEA Games champion, whose $800 monthly study grant has been withheld since July, is not sure if he is coming back.
This is the latest episode in the thrower's deteriorating relations with the SAA.
'I don't know if I'm returning to Singapore,'' Dong said in a telephone interview from China, where he is studying for a sports degree at the Shenyang Institute of Physical Education.
'I've been training a little since I came back to China. That's because of my hectic study schedule.
'When I returned for the Singapore Open in September, I had a discussion with SAA president Loh Lin Kok.
'But we could not come to an agreement. I wanted to continue training in China, but he rejected my request.
'As a result, my study grant was cut. In fact, I have not been paid since July.''
Loh blasted back: 'He is bluffing. He has been training and studying in China since July last year.
'We wanted his training reports. But what he wrote and how he performed at the Singapore Open were completely different stories.''
Dong finished third on 14.44 metres - exactly three metres short of his personal best set in 2003.
Loh said: 'Throwing just 14 metres in the shot put is a joke for someone who's a SEA Games gold medallist.
'We asked him to return for a mini-meet in July. But he claimed that he had fluid retention in his legs.
'We sent him for tests and he was passed fit by the doctors. And it was evident from his performance in the meet that he's terribly out of shape.
'When I met him last month, he said that it is too far to travel from his place in Gombak to the Sports Council for physiotherapy.
'He wanted a physio right at his doorstep. He wanted us to buy amino acids for him.
'What kind of attitude is that? I believe in merit. And his present performances certainly do not warrant it.
'When we turned him down, he just scooted off.''
The dispute is the latest flashpoint between the SAA and its China-born imports.
Two months ago, it clashed with women throwers Du Xianhui and Zhang Guirong.
The duo returned suddenly to China without permission and insisted on training there.
Zhang is also slated to participate in the Thailand SEA Games from Dec 6, but that is now in doubt after she, too, went AWOL.
The SAA then stopped the financial assistance grants to both women.
Has the system failed?
'I have to admit the Foreign Talent Scheme in athletics is a failure,'' Loh sighed.
'We recruited individuals and, when these individuals go down, the whole system goes down.
'We placed these individuals with a pastoral caregiver in a household environment. But, when the caregiver quits, these athletes run amok.
'I seriously have to think twice about getting more overseas recruits.
'Maybe the future is to enrol them in the Sports School, and hope they can be nurtured and disciplined there.'
Dong holds the national record of 17.44m and set the SEA Games record of 17.28m in 2003. He sat out the 2005 edition because of injury.
He beat the qualifying mark for this year's Games by a metre with a 14.09m effort.
He was initially not selected owing to an administrative oversight by the SAA, but his place has since been reinstated after an appeal.
Loh insisted the door is not shut on Dong: 'The ball is still in his court. But whether he'll return for the SEA Games is still a very big question mark.
'I have given him all the leeway and all the carrots. But, if you want to play with fire, don't cry when the hatchet falls.''
Asked about the Games, Dong could only say: 'I really don't know. I really don't know.'
meng@sph.com.sg
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