The Straits Times Blogs - Terrence Voon

Getting the right Formula

2009-11-10T06:01:00Z

Terrence Voon ponders the merits of fielding a Singapore F1 team.

DURING my visit to Abu Dhabi earlier this month for the season-ending Formula One race, I ran into a very special tour guide at the landmark Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Bader Al Jabri can tell you how big the carpet is at the mosque, when it was made, and how many hours went into weaving together its intricate patterns.

He can also take a souped-up Ford Fiesta and send it barrelling across gravel, sand and dirt at speeds of up to 200km per hour.

Bader, still only 23, has been making headlines in the prestigious World Rally Championship (WRC), where he came in third for Team Abu Dhabi at the Fiesta Sporting Trophy International in Wales last month.

Bader is part of a growing breed of young Emiratis who are embracing motorsports - thanks to government funding from the oil-rich nation that already has locally-sponsored teams in speed events like Formula One Air Racing and F1 Powerboat.

The next step, is to put an Emirati car on the starting grid of an F1 race.

Closer to home, Malaysia has been abuzz over the last few weeks, following news that a Malaysian F1 team - led by AirAsia supremo Tony Fernandes - will be making their F1 bow next season.

The question begs to be asked: can Singapore do what the Emirates and our neighbours have done?

The signs look promising.

The Changi Motorsports Hub, due in 2011, is set to provide a round-the-clock training ground for budding Singapore race car drivers.

There is also plenty of existing talent - Melvin Choo, for instance, is set to compete in the prestigious Super GT in Japan next year.

With a Formula One race here that has already become iconic, it is perhaps time to look at a Singapore F1 team as a possibility - not just a pipe dream.

For sure, there are plenty of stumbling blocks, the biggest of which is the prohibitive cost of running an F1 outfit. Teams fork out hundreds of millions of dollars each year, a price that carmakers like Honda, BMW, and now Toyota, are unwilling to pay.

The Republic's previous motorsport team venture - the A1GP Team Singapore - met its demise two years ago due to infighting and financial woes.

But motorsports offers a unique vehicle for the Republic - few other sports can combine tourism exposure along with sporting prestige.

And with government funding already behind a motorsport revival here, there's no reason why we can't extend that to talent development and partner major corporations to put an F1 or WRC team on the start line.

If Bader can do it, so can a Singaporean.

The EPL game isn't over yet

2009-10-13T08:42:00Z

Terrence Voon says SingTel still has work to do to win over Singapore EPL fans

This week, SingTel delivered on its promise that the cost of watching English Premier League on TV would not go up next year.

While this is surely good news for cost-conscious football fans, SingTel still has some way to go before it can win over the hearts of naysayers.

Top-class programming and a guarantee that subscription costs will not go up over the next two years must be delivered, if the telco giant is to entice more followers to the mio TV camp.

Interactivity and a convergence of TV, Internet and mobile devices are already offered by current rights-holders StarHub, and SingTel - to paraphrase their CEO Allen Lew - must up the game.

The ability to offer matches on-demand 24/7 is already a huge boon for sleep-challenged fans who may not want to wake up at 2am to catch a live mid-week game.

Adding other key content like weekly match highlights to the list of on-demand programmes will surely be a popular move.

On the hosting front, SingTel is expected to outshine the incumbent, seeing how the likes of Joe Morrison were widely-panned for their lack of chutzpah (Guest analyst John Burridge, on the other hand, had too much of it).

But bringing back the effervescent John Dykes isn't enough - adding credible and well-spoken Asian voices to a genre dominated by Caucasian hosts and ex-players would make for more diverse and interesting viewing.

Notwithstanding Shebby Singh, SingTel would do well to emulate what Star Sports has done with its Formula One programmes, where Asian commentators and hosts like Paula Malai and Alex Yoong mingle comfortably with the likes of Steve Dawson.

By making the EPL product more local - without sacrificing production values - SingTel has a chance to make the pre-match and half-time shows less of an onerous experience than they are now.

Another strategy to woo fans is put the power of the remote back into their hands.

How many times have you rushed home to catch a game, only to miss the opening goal that was scored in the 2nd minute? Even for the impatient fan, replays are only guaranteed at half-time.

SingTel could change the game by putting goal replays for every ongoing match on demand. Other significant match events, like a red card or a penalty miss could be added to the list.

In short, SingTel has to make the $23 that fans will be paying each month seem like a steal.

But the deal-breaker will come after the first season, when SingTel may decide to up subscription charges, bearing in mind that the company probably paid over the top to beat StarHub to the prize and will want to recoup its investment.

Such a move, while pragmatic and pleasing to shareholders, will alienate even more fans, many of whom have already vowed to turn to free Internet streaming sites for their EPL diet.

Over to you, SingTel.

Why did SIA sponsor an NZ team?

2009-09-04T22:23:00Z

Terrence Voon explains why Singapore's Dragon Boat Association needs more marketing.

THE furore over Singapore Airline's sponsorship of a New Zealand side at the recent World Dragon Boat Championships has raised the hackles of some Singaporeans.

But to criticise the airline for not funding the Republic's youth team instead may not be the fairest thing to do.

Questions must be raised about how the sport is run and what kind of official funding, if any, was made available to the young dragon boaters in the first place.

Singapore's junior Dragon Boat team in training. ST PHOTO

Mr Dennis Tan, the father of one of the Singapore rowers, painted an emotive picture of how he and his child struggled to raise money for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, only to be confronted by a Kiwi team emblazoned with the SIA logo at the event.

His disappointment is heartfelt, if not understandable.

Earlier this week, I spoke to officials from the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA), a national sports body which had previously only made the news after five national rowers perished in a tragic accident in Cambodia two years ago.

The SDBA's stark financial reality is this: As one of the 10 sports ranked in the fourth tier of the Singapore Sports Council's annual funding review, they receive between $100,000 to $200,000 from government coffers each year.

Sending the 49 student rowers to Prague for the World Championships would have drained these funds completely.

To be fair, the SDBA boasts two big-hitting sponsors: Singapore Pools and the Singapore Tourism Board.

But it is not known how much the two organisations contribute to the sport in terms of actual cash.

What we do know is that the SDBA can only afford to upkeep a senior national team and that all it did was to "endorse" the juniors' participation at the World Championships.

For a sport which has now delivered international honours, it is criminal to simply continue giving young talented rowers a pat on their back and sending them on their way — without forking out a single cent.

The SDBA needs to regroup and find a way to maintain a formal national youth squad, and not rely on schools, parents and students to do the hard work for them.

They also need to take a more aggressive approach to securing sponsorship — witness how sports like netball produce glossy brochures and customised marketing proposals to woo potential sponsors.

Armed with a world title and a little more marketing savvy, it shouldn't be too hard to make sponsors — even those at SIA — to sit up and take notice.

Has La Liga got the power?

2009-08-07T22:15:00Z

Terrence Voon wonders if Spanish is the new language of football.

REAL Madrid's summer of extravagance has resurfaced an age-old question: Has the La Liga wrested the seat of power away from the English Premier League?

At first glance, it sure looks that way.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be trading their Italian and English clubs for Spanish ones this season.

And with memories of Barcelona's dismantling of Manchester United in May's Champions League final still fresh in the mind, it is not inconceivable that Spanish may soon be the first language for football fans the world over.

Or so it might seem.

Spain's dominance on the cash and continental front can be attributed to just two clubs - one with a blank chequebook and the other with extraordinary footballing artistry.

In this case, two swallows do not make a Spanish summer.

And the Spaniards still have some way to go, before they can catch up with their English neighbours in the popularity and money stakes.

Thanks to years of full-scale television bombardment, fans in many parts of the world have emotional ties that bind them to teams like Manchester United and Liverpool.

Hurl a stone in any direction at Orchard Road, for instance, and you are likely to hit someone who's a fan of an English club.

I, for one, grew up watching now-defunct TV programmes like Big League Soccer and EPL highlights on World of Sport. For the life of me, I can't remember watching a single Spanish league match until I was well into my teens.

Maybe it's because the football product churned out from British shores is still unrivalled in terms of excitement, if not sheer passion.

The Spaniards have one fixture all season that thrills - the El Classico. In the EPL, United vs Liverpool gets our blood pumping as much as a showdown between Chelsea and Arsenal.

Simply put, there are more teams in the EPL to watch, to love, and to admire.

Money-wise, Real Madrid's spending spree has skewed financial reality.

In Deloitte's latest football report this year, the Premier League still outstrips its rivals in terms of wealth.

In the 2005-06 season, it had an average revenue of US$700m. The La Liga was a distant fourth with US$275m.

Newer figures would likely show that the gap has narrowed, and will continue to do so, given the talent drain from England to Spain that will draw more fans who crave Ronaldo's magic on a weekly basis.

But as most fans will tell you, it is the club they support, not the player.

And if that holds true, fan loyalty is still the biggest asset that the EPL commands - and that is something the Spaniards have yet to emulate, at least in this part of the world.

Read The Saturday Special Report here

Simply unethical

2009-07-29T06:31:00Z

Terrence Voon says journalists shouldn't act like fans even if they love a team.

A STRANGE thing happened last week when the football circus that was Liverpool FC dropped by Singapore for a friendly match.

More than a few journalists, normally paragons of professionalism, were reduced to grovelling fanboys craving for a smile, or worse, an autograph from Fernando Torres and gang.

Did it bother me? You bet it did.

In a profession that prides itself on neutrality and credibility, there is no place for reporters pretending to be fans or fans pretending to be reporters.

Here's a case in point: During the Reds' first press conference in Singapore, an Indonesian journalist turned the media session into a fawning monologue about how she and Torres shared the same tastes in music.

The Spaniard listened politely, while the rest of the scribes in the room shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

She wasn't the only one. Another reporter wore a T-shirt emblazoned with Rafael Benitez's image, and proudly pointed that out to the Liverpool manager when it was his turn to ask a question.

No wonder some newsmakers don't take journalists seriously. How can they, when some of us become quivering, attention-seeking wrecks the moment we are confronted with a celebrity?

I have no problem with fans expressing their devotion to a pop star or a footballer, or even gunning for a keepsake when they meet their idols.

I've done that often myself, but only on my own time. After all, it's hard to take notes and ask questions when all you really want is a Jamie Carragher autograph on your bum.

To combine personal fandom and journalism is not just unprofessional — it's simply unethical.

Imagine a reporter who's been assigned to cover a political rally, but turns up wearing party colours and later gets on stage to express his admiration for a party leader.

It might be argued that politics and sports are governed by different sensitivities.

That may be, but there is no doubt that being a fan gets in the way of the job, like what happened at Kallang after the Liverpool match on Sunday.

The 'mixed zone' — a cordoned-off area where journalists could interview the players after the game — turned into an autograph zone.

Instead of flinging questions at the likes of Dirk Kuyt and Javier Mascherano, frenzied reporters piled them with scarves, jerseys and programmes to be signed.

It was enough to make Woodward and Bernstein weep in shame.

For the record, I am a Liverpool fan, and have been one for the last 23 years of my life.

And no, I did not ask for an autograph.

Flu or not, let the games begin

2009-06-26T22:00:00Z

Terrence Voon thinks it's time to focus on what the AYG is all about - sports.

THE running joke circulating around journalists covering the upcoming Asian Youth Games is that organisers should stage a 'Flu Cup Final', contested by the Philippines and Hong Kong football teams.

No one was laughing earlier this week, of course, when five footballers from the two sides came down with H1N1, forcing the rest of their teammates into a week-long quarantine in Singapore.

Organisers were grim-faced, as they grappled with questions on whether the Games should continue, now that Influenza A has reared its ugly head in the Games Village.

But there were plenty of smiles and high-fives when the Filipino teenagers were released from Aloha Loyang Resorts on Friday morning. Their peers from Hong Kong will be equally ecstatic on Saturday morning, when they too, get the all-clear from the Health Ministry.

The end of their quarantine period, while eventful in itself, is also a chance for the Games to switch to what it should really be about: Sports.

When the idea of a continental-wide Youth Games was first mooted in 2007 as part of Singapore's bid for the Youth Olympics, many assumed that the AYG would simply be a testbed for the more glamorous and widely-anticipated YOG.

But the nine-sport AYG stands firmly on its own two feet, not least because it will give Asia's brightest sporting talents a platform on which they could excel and improve.

Add the fact that it is the Republic's first multi-sport extravaganza since the 1993 South-east Asian Games and you get an idea of just how important the AYG is in the context of Singapore sports.

Come Sunday, the torch will be lit and the real action will get underway just 48 hours later.

Realistically, of course, the shadow cast by H1N1 will continue to hover over the Games, especially with hundreds more athletes arriving in the next few days from far-flung corners of the continent.

But Asia's eyes are on us, and national pride is at stake. Couple with our famed pragmatism and resourcefulness, there's a good chance Singapore can pull off the Games, H1N1 or not.

And that, surely, is nothing to sneeze at.

On interviewing sports stars

2009-06-12T10:19:00Z

Terrence Voon is bemused by Lee Chong Wei's negative attitude.

LEE Chong Wei's premature exit at the Aviva Open Singapore on Thursday might have drawn groans of disappointment from local badminton fans.

But few in the press room at the Singapore Indoor Stadium would have shed tears over his departure.

From the moment Lee touched down in Singapore, he has been a sullen figure, one who made it abundantly clear that he tolerates the media, rather than embraces them.

The racket is mightier than the pen perhaps, but his behaviour during the pre-tournament press conference on Monday is a case in point.

After rushing out of the media session, he then became uncontactable. Even after his first-round win over Andrew Smith on Wednesday, his answers were terse and his body language spoke volumes of a man who could not wait to get out of the camera glare.

The final straw came on Friday, when a proposed interview with the top-seeded shuttler was canned at the last minute, because the Malaysian team had decided to fly back home.

Lee's behaviour is all the more puzzling, for in all my previous encounters with the player, he has always been friendly and affable.

Just last year, he spoke candidly about his romantic relationship with teammate Wong Mew Choo, even when his girlfriend was reluctant to speak on the subject.

It's hard to believe that the world's best badminton player has become an incredible sulk overnight, but there might have been mitigating reasons for this.

According to Lee, he has had less than a week to prepare for the Super Series event here, owing to domestic competitions in Malaysia.

As the defending champion, he might have been frustrated by his lack of sharpness for an important tournament.

The sudden death of his long-time mentor Indra Gunawan last weekend would have dampened his spirits too.

Or perhaps Lee's crown as the world No 1 is getting heavier by the day, especially with the World Championships just two months away.

Whatever his reasons were, Lee will not be terribly missed in Singapore this weekend.

With so many colourful characters left in the Singapore Open fray, like the hugely entertaining and outspoken Nguyen Tien Minh, there will be plenty of other reasons to keep our eyes glued to the court.

Moving eleven

2009-05-22T08:19:00Z

Terrence Voon names 11 players likely to leave their clubs when EPL season ends.

IT'S that time of the year again, when sports reporters are harangued by their editors to come up with interesting blogs about the end of yet another mind-numbing English Premier League season.

I'm kidding, of course. I love my English football, and blogs are a great way to let off some steam, or in this case, feed a journalist's obsession with lists.

On that note, whip out your hankies, and say goodbye 11 players (and one manager) I think will take their final bow for their respective clubs come Sunday.

Here's how they would line up:

Owen Santa Cruz

Tevez

Downing Barry Bentley

Cole Hyppia Laursen Johnson

Itandje

Manager: Guus Hiddink

Goalkeeper

Charles Itandje (Liverpool) - Liverpool's 48th choice keeper made the headlines for the first time in his career when he decided that the Hillsborough memorial service was a good time to showcase his dance routine. Likely to be shipped off faster than you can pronounce his name when the transfer window opens.

Defenders

Ashley Cole (Chelsea) - Loyalty, as we all know, is a foreign language to the former Arsenal left-back. And with Barcelona calling, expect Cole to take up Spanish lessons soon.

Sami Hyypia (Liverpool) - One of the Reds' greatest modern day imports, the big Finn departs Anfield after 10 years for Bayer Leverkusen.

Martin Laursen (Aston Villa) - Another outstanding centreback with years of long service. But unlike Hyypia, Laursen has had enough of watching Man United win everything and is headed straight for retirement.

Glen Johnson (Portsmouth) - Made the news when he stole a toilet seat from a warehouse two years ago. Liverpool will try to flush him out this summer with a big money deal.

Midfielders

Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) - Realised in January that Boro was rubbish and asked for a transfer, unsuccessfully. Now that the team is headed for the can, Spurs and Liverpool are amongst his suitors.

Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) - Will he or won't he? The central midfielder could finally get out of Martin O'Neill's hair in the summer, but only if Liverpool sort out Xabi Alonso first.

David Bentley (Tottenham) - Mr Goal of the Season was unwanted at Arsenal, and is now unwanted at Spurs. Last seen at a train station in North London train, taking the first shuttle out to Manchester.

Forwards

Carlos Tevez (Manchester United) - All he needs is love, and Sir Alex isn't giving any. Will join anyone who's willing to give him a hug. And a 30 million pound transfer fee.

Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn) - Voted the sexiest footballer at the 2006 World Cup, though it is unclear if this will boost his price tag in the summer, when a bidding war is likely to start for his services.

Michael Owen (Newcastle) - The Premier League's poor little rich boy is looking for a new home, preferably a non-relegated one. Any takers?

Manager

Guus Hiddink (Chelsea) - Never has a temporary manager been more well-loved. He goes back to Russia in June, with Stamford Bridge in tears and Avram Grant writhing in jealousy.

So, what do you think? Leave your comments here!

We are family

2009-04-15T22:30:00Z

Terrence Voon says the legacy of Hillsborough should unify fans.

AS LIVERPOOL fans around the world mark the 20th anniversary of a disaster that changed the face of modern football, my mind is cast back to an unforgettable day in the spring of 1997.

The sun was out, and so was Sheffield Wednesday's army of football fans, who approached Hillsborough for the final Premier League game of the season against Liverpool, a sold-out affair.

I was amongst them, alone and ticketless at ground zero, where 96 souls had died tragically eight years earlier.

The match itself, a 1-1 draw that condemned the Reds to a place in the Uefa Cup instead of the Champions League, was unremarkable. But my encounters with rival fans on that day would become an integral part of my upbringing as a football supporter.

Whilst loitering outside the stadium, I approached an Owls fan, more in hope than expectation that the middle-aged gentleman would have a spare ticket.

To my surprise, he did. And to my astonishment, he gave it to me for free.

His son was unable to make it to the match, he explained. And when I pointed out that I was a Liverpool fan, as evidenced by my red scarf and replica jersey, he replied: "It doesn't matter, son. We're all family here."

His words rang true even in the stadium, where I was seated amongst the home fans. Sure, there were the good-natured jibes about Liverpool's fall from grace as an footballing force, but there was little abuse, verbal or otherwise.

It might be argued that Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool were never great rivals to begin with, and that the tragic events of '89 on the same ground have muted the ill-will that exists between opposing supporters.

But there was mutual respect and genuine sportsmanship, commodities which are sadly missing in many other football stadiums around the world, up until today.

From the San Siro to Anfield and the Nou Camp to Ibrox, vile chants and petulant acts of violence between rival fans have blighted the modern game. Back home, even the National Stadium saw clashes between fans at the Singapore-Vietnam Suzuki Cup match last December.

As recently as last month, when Liverpool visited Old Trafford for their crunch Premiership tie against Manchester United, the behaviour of some supporters was nothing short of disgraceful.

Sickening songs about Hillsborough were sung by the home support, while the away section piped in with unprintable taunts about Munich, the scene of a plane crash which claimed the lives of United's golden generation in 1958.

An idiot wearing Liverpool colours even brought an inflatable airplane to the stadium.

The rivalries between Mancunians and Scousers predate their football clubs, but when supporters resort to defiling the dead to raise the hackles of their 'enemies', there is something wrong with our humanity as fans.

The legacy of Hillsborough, or any other sports disaster for that matter, should be a unifying force for fans everywhere - not a divisive one.

As much as rivalry is the most tantalising spice in football, the line between that and tasteless hatred should never be crossed.

Bill Shankly's famous remark about football transcending life and death is great for the quote collectors, but for me, the words of that kind gent with a spare ticket 12 years ago will always ring louder.

We are family, after all.

Badminton anyone? Not today

2009-04-01T13:02:00Z

Terrence Voon bemoans the lack of badminton courts in Singapore.

WANT to play badminton in Singapore? You had better make plans two weeks in advance, or better yet, switch to tennis.

The reason is simple - the demand for badminton courts far outstrips the supply in Singapore. And unless you're a student with access to school sports facilities, there is no such thing as a game of pick-up badminton.

Here's case in point: About a week ago, I came across two young girls in the basement carpark of a condominium in the east, playing a makeshift game of badminton in the empty spaces between cars.

It didn't take long for the condo's security officers to come along and break up the game. The girls - no older than ten - looked crushed.

Of course, there were plenty of legitimate reasons why they should not be playing there, not least of all safety.

What provoked my sympathy for the young shuttlers was that the same condominium had three tennis courts and two squash courts - but could find no space for badminton.

A quick check with my friends who were residents at other condos around the island confirmed my suspicions that badminton is the unwanted child of racket sports, at least in the eyes of Singapore private property developers.

What then of the majority of Singaporeans who are HDB dwellers?

Their only option is to book courts at public sports halls or community centres. But these are heavily utilised, not just for badminton, but for other activities as well.

Seasoned recreational shuttlers will tell you that you need to book at least two weeks in advance to have any hope of snagging that prime Saturday afternoon slot to try out your new cross-court backhand smash.

Little wonder then, that Singapore has had some trouble producing talented home-grown badminton players in recent years.

For a sport that is this popular amongst Singaporeans of all ages, surely we can do better?

Less money, more maidens

2009-03-26T02:30:00Z

Terrence Voon gets up close with this season's bevy of SingTel grid girls.

IN A sport where money is in short supply, sex, apparently, is still available in the truckloads.

I'm talking about Formula One of course, and to illustrate this point, one needs to look no further than yesterday's press launch by Singtel for its sponsorship activities leading up to September's night race.

So what if the likes of ING, RBS and Credit Suisse are running away from the sport faster than Lewis Hamilton with his pants on fire? So what if there is there less money everywhere, even for Bernie Ecclestone's ex-wife?

We will give you more - grid girls, that is.

The Singtel Grid Girls pose for a photograph at a press briefing for SingTel's sponsorship activation programme for the 2009 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.
PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

That's right. An all-new bevy of local stunners all set to steam up your television screens starting tonight, vying for the glorious opportunity of escorting Fernando Alonso and company to their places on the starting grid in Singapore.

Feminists and moralists, time to start tearing your hair out, and write to my colleagues at ST Forum.

Guys, time to get your blood pressure checked.

At least, that's what I thought, when I met the five original grid girls who turned up at One Fullerton yesterday to grace the event.

I confess, I had never met the likes of Alexandra Hui and Fadilah Amir Hamzah up close until yesterday, having confined most of my F1 duties last year to more noble pursuits like finding out whether wind-tunnel testing is directly responsible for Nico Rosberg's immaculate blond mane.

Nothing could have prepared me for the startling truth - the girls aren't just bimbos in stockings. Really.

Like everyone else, I sniggered at the mere mention of the words 'grid' and 'girls' in the same sentence. Even at the event itself, there were sneering whispers from the some of the invited guests.

"They're just here to pose," said a fellow scribe. "I can't believe they're the best we've got," said another.

I agreed - until I mustered up enough courage (with the help of two Diet Cokes) to speak to some of them.

Half an hour later, after an expansive discussion ranging from the state of the local media industry to the finer points of McLaren's pre-season testing, I realised I was quite wrong about these red-clad lasses.

They speak well, they're approachable and, contrary to popular belief, their best assets are actually between their eyes.

Of course, it helps that they can fill out body-hugging dresses with alarming precision. But honestly, good looks can only get you so far right? (A certain local female sports presenter, bless her soul, is a rare exception to this rule.)

In a world where the F1 doom merchants are predicting the death of anything from Hamilton's title hopes to the sport itself, these women are a breath of fresh, optimistic air.

So who cares if the financial downturn is turning Formula One to dust?

Singapore's very own grid girls can help to spin gold from the ashes - if you will just give them a chance to talk.

Snookering a double world champ

2009-02-20T10:51:00Z

Terrence Voon shoots pool table with Taiwan's double world champion.

EVER felt so embarrassed at a pool table that you wanted to disappear inside one of the pockets?

I did last week.

Whilst interviewing Taiwan's double world champion Wu Chia-ching at Klassic Cuesports, someone thought it might be worth a laugh if I played a few rounds of 9-Ball with him.

He was right: It was funny pitting a casual pub player against one of the world's best. But the experience wasn't just humourous - it was humiliating.

Wu, for the record, was here in Singapore as a sparring partner for the national team, a move that has sparked considerable hysteria in Taiwan, where speculation is mounting that he may become the Republic's latest foreign import.

But while he may been frustrated by all the media hoopla back home, the 20-year-old remains a consummate professional on the table, even against a rank amateur like yours truly.

"Go easy on me," he joked, as he lined up to break the first rack.

Two minutes later, I was racking up again, without having gone to the table yet.

Wu was showing exactly why he is known as "The Little Genius" by his peers. His stroking movement was incredibly consistent and he reads the table in a flash, knowing quickly how best to untangle the puzzle of balls and numbers on the table.

Source: STARHUB

His positioning is also impeccable, always within an inch or two of the desired 'sweet spot'.

If pool is all about physics then this man is a Nobel laureate.

When it was finally my turn to take to the table, I missed. But the cue ball spun behind the black, hiding from the pink that was a full table length away. A safety shot, albeit an unintended one.

No problem, said Wu. With just the right amount of top-spin, he promptly bounced the cue ball off two rails to hit the pink - and 'snookered' me in the process.

And when the centre pocket swallowed up my cue ball on the next shot, I knew that the gig was up.

The final score was 0-3 in favour of the world champion. No surprise there.

Maybe 8-Ball would be a better bet, I suggested.

Fat chance. Wu allowed me to break, and my response was to propel the cue ball out of the table, narrowly missing a member of the Singapore national team who had been smirking the entire time.

Wu politely retrieved the errant ball, and proceeded to clear the deck. 10 minutes and two games later, I had truly been beaten black, blue and yellow.

Throughout the entire experience, he never even smiled once - that was how serious the guy took the game.

Mercifully though, it was soon time for me to go, with my proverbial tail firmly between my legs.

And as I turned to leave, Wu had already returned to the table, potting shot after shot with that same unsmiling look of intense concentration.

For this world champion, there is no such thing as playing pool 'for fun'.

Battle of the sporting sexes

2009-01-21T10:29:00Z

Terrence Voon discusses why he thinks a sportswoman's win is rare.

CAN women beat men at their own game when it comes to sport?

The quick answer is no. But female pool player Charlene Chai recently proved that there are exceptions to the rule.

Last Sunday, the 28-year-old dispatched a host of male players to win the national 9- ball title - no mean feat, considering that most of her opponents were national players.

Charlene deserves every accolade and pat on the back that comes her way for this gender-defying achievement. But similar stories are rare in most sports.

The reasons are both physical and logistical.

Source: ASHLEIGH SIM

In most major sports, like football, athletics and swimming, raw power, stamina, and strength are key determinants when it comes to results. Few would argue that women will find it difficult to match the top males athletes in these physical areas.

Competitively, there are also few opportunities for women to line up against men on a level playing field. In most competitions, the men are separated from the women, and prizes are awarded according to gender categories.

The exception, at least in Singapore, is in cuesports like 9-ball and 8-ball. At the Olympics level, only certain events in sailing and equestrian offer women a chance to compete with men for the same prize.

However, the battle of the sexes may not necessarily be a one-sided affair.

Aside from pool and sailing, sports like shooting, bowling and even auto racing often test the athlete's natural skill, sense of timing and coordination. These are areas in which women are in no way disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts.

Danica Patrick for instance, made motor racing headlines last year when she became the first woman to win an IndyCar race. In the history of Formula One, there have also been five drivers who are female.

Male pride, usually a powerful motivator when it comes to sports, could also play to a woman's advantage. When a male athlete is pitted against a woman, the pressure to win could be too much even for seasoned pros.

Of course, the world of sport is a long way away from becoming gender-blind. But there are ways for women to fill their trophy cabinets at the expense of men.

Just ask Charlene.

Why Kaka is wrong for Man City

2009-01-14T11:45:00Z

Terrence Voon discusses why Kaka and Man City are not right for each other.

THE old adage that money can't buy love comes to mind almost as soon as the headlines swirled around Manchester City's jaw-dropping bid to land Kaka, AC Milan's recently-dethroned World Footballer of the Year.

If reports are to be believed, the oil-rich Premiership side are set to tempt the Serie A club by putting 100 million euros on the table for the Brazilian forward.

It is a bid of seismic proportions - and not just because it eclipses the record 48 million pounds Real Madrid paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

It is the first time a football club of such modest repute, albeit recently enriched, has made a serious attempt to pry a superstar footballer from a club of Milan's stature.

Should the deal go through, however, it will likely end in tears for both club and player.

For Manchester City, it could be a case of biting off more than you can chew. Despite the acquisition of Robinho in the summer, City is still languishing in the relegation zone of the Premier League, and barring a minor miracle, is unlikely to enhance its reputation this season.

Robinho's indifferent performances thus far, is proof that one star does not make an entire team shine. As long as the likes Nedum Onuoha and Pablo Zabaleta continue to underperform, even Kaka will find it hard to spin results from Mark Hughe's spluttering team.

What City needs, is half a dozen astute buys in the vein of young guns like Lyon's Karim Benzema or Valencia's David Silva, who have yet to reach the zenith of their careers and ambitions. The price tag for Kaka alone, will bankroll at least three such buys.

In Kaka's case, surely money cannot be the most important consideration for a player who, at 140,000 pounds a week, is already the highest paid in the Serie A.

And with success likely to elude City for at least another season or two, can a player of his standing afford to wait on the sidelines for Champions League football?

City and Kaka do not need each other yet. For both their sakes, let's hope common sense prevails.

Keep your eye on the new coach

2009-01-07T12:31:00Z

Terrence Voon on why Alain Chen has an uphill task ahead.

ALAIN Chen, the Chinese coach with a French passport, will have his job cut out for him as head coach of the Singapore men's table tennis team.

Chen, who took over the hotseat on Monday, faces the unenviable task of bringing the men up to par with their female counterparts, who etched their name into the history books last August at the Beijing Olympics.

And it is a huge gap to bridge. While Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu grabbed second-place at both the Olympics and the World Championships, Gao Ning, Yang Zi and Cai Xiaoli did not come close to team honours in 2008. They were ranked 10th in the World Championships, and did not progress beyond the group stage of the Olympic team event.

Individually, their rankings also lag far behind the fairer sex. Whilst Li, Feng and Wang occupy top-ten positions in the world, the highest-ranked male paddler is Gao, who is 21st.

In a sport dominated by the juggernaut known as China, Chen knows it will be an uphill battle. But as the men embark on their 2009 campaign, they will have at least one advantage - the undivided attention of a specialist head coach.

Chen's predecessor, Liu Guodong, was in charge of both the men and women's squads. As the Olympics beckoned, Liu understandably focused his energies on Li and company, who, unlike the men, had a realistic chance of grabbing a medal.

As a result, some of the male paddlers doubled up as sparring partners for their female teammates, which sparked unhappiness from players like Gao.

Chen's appointment as a dedicated men's coach will smooth over the ruffled feathers. But more importantly, his coaching experience in France will give a rare technical edge to his players.

Unlike women's table tennis, which is dominated by players from China, the men's arena has a distinctly European flavour to it.

European stars like world No 4 Timo Boll of Germany regularly give the male Chinese paddlers a hard time, with his physical style of play that emphasises more on raw power than finesse.

It is no coincidence that at the last Olympics, both Gao and Yang fell to European-based players in their singles event.

Chen, who has the unique experience of coaching in both China and Europe, will help to address this weakness.

But whether or not he can narrow the gulf in standards within his two-year contract is anyone's guess - especially as the women continue to outstrip the men in terms of results.

Keep a close eye on Gao and Yang's performances in the coming months. It will be the best measure of whether Singapore's decision to hire a French-flavoured Chinese coach will pay off.