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KORAT - SO, TEAM Singapore registered a new personal best of 43 golds at the South-east Asia Games.
Kudos to the 422 athletes who became only the second batch of Singapore athletes to cross the 40-gold mark at an overseas Games.
Another pat on the back for surpassing the previous best 'away' showing of 42, set at the 2005 Games in the Philippines.
But, having seen them improve from 22 at the 2001 Malaysia Games to 30 at the 2003 Vietnam Games, and to that 42 in the Philippines, one has to ask: Has Singapore reached saturation point?
After all, they improved by a mere gold in this edition.
The Sunday Times had predicted that they were capable of bringing home 51 gold medals, which would better their best haul of 50 when they hosted the 1993 Games.
The target was based on a best-case scenario, that at least 90 per cent of the Singaporeans in Thailand would perform to their true potential.
Admittedly, that was a tall order. It needed only one or two sports to flop and the target would be in jeopardy.
That was what happened in Korat, as cuesports, bodybuilding, archery and golf all failed to deliver golds they were more than capable of.
Although sailing (four golds) and fencing (one gold) did meet their targets, their haul could have easily doubled on a better day.
Yet, even if Singapore had reached the historic 51-gold mark, so what?
Going by this Games, it would not have mattered at all.
Singapore would still have finished in fifth place in the medal standings, behind Thailand (183), Malaysia (68), Vietnam (64) and Indonesia (56).
Will the Republic then ever be able to hit the seemingly lofty figures of 60, 70 or even 80 golds?
Not in the near feature.
Not when, at this Games, Singapore had a good chance for only one out of the 45 athletics golds on offer.
Not when, with 16 taekwondo golds at stake, not a single Singaporean was close enough to be a contender.
Not when they competed in only two of the 18 karate events because they do not have a kumite team.
I could go on. After all, not one Singaporean contested in diving (10 events) and boxing (17 events).
It is too late to try and groom a 5,000-metre gold medallist or a karate champion by the time the 2009 Laos Games comes along.
But it is not too late to aim for 2013, when Singapore and the spanking new Sports Hub will play hosts to the biennial Games.
Why not let all of Asean marvel at what will most certainly be the most spectacular sports facility in the region, as well as how Singapore has progressed as a sporting nation?
But the work must start now. The Singapore Athletic Association should take the lead. It laid the foundation this year by sending 21 athletes to Thailand, its biggest contingent in recent years.
Yet, they competed in only 10 of the 45 events.
Use the next two Games to blood more athletes so that when 2013 comes, Singapore will, hopefully, be able to win more than just the women's shot put gold.
One needs only to look at shooting to see that it can be done.
In 2005, it won only three golds. This year, Singapore's shooters delivered eight, winning their first rifle and pistol golds in 34 years.
It took years of building a strong base of young shooters at the school level and then blooding them at the last two SEA Games.
Yet, for all their progress, the eight golds were still only less than a third of the 26 on offer in Thailand.
But they are on the right track.
The rest of Singapore should also start planning for the next lap - or risk being left stagnant in the middle of the field.
marclim@sph.com.sg
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