It is heartening that there are fans like Mr Jaspal Singh Sidhu (The real winners in 32-0 thrashing at National School Games football match, Jan 28) and Ms Lim Mei Ling (Referees and adults present could have intervened in 32-0 whipping, Jan 30) who are passionate about improving Singapore football. Their letters raise valid points.

There is discussion over whether a player who beats his opponent by a wide margin lacks true sportsmanship.

I believe the Singapore Sports School (SSP) would not be honouring their opponents by "giving chance" and going easy on them. Likewise, Assumption Pathway School (APS) would not want to be patronised by their opponents.

Had SSP, a specialist institution focused on developing elite sports talents, beaten run-of-the-mill APS by a narrow margin, it could very well have been viewed as an example of the relevant organisations not doing enough to raise the standards of football in Singapore - it's a case of damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Former sprint champion and current 100m and 200m world record holder Usain Bolt often beat his opponents by phenomenally wide margins.

Should he have slowed down for his opponents just so they wouldn't lose by too much and look bad?

As for the lessons learnt from hammering a team 32-0, I would suggest winning - and losing - with grace and honour and, for the losers, giving them the hunger to keep their chins up and win the next game.

Also, aren't we always talking about teaching our kids resilience? Yet, here we are in the same breath saying adults need to intervene when the children are losing - what kind of conflicting messages are we sending to the children?

At the end of the day, I'd be very surprised if anyone is genuinely mocking either SSP for their disproportionate thrashing of APS, or APS for their sub-par performance on the pitch.

That's how the game should be played, that is true sportsmanship and it is how the standard of football in Singapore can be raised.

Woon Wee Min