Tennis star Ana Ivanovic has played on all surfaces, including clay, grass, and hard courts. She has even played in an empty swimming pool.
Growing up in war-torn Serbia, Ivanovic would hone her game in the winter at a club with an Olympic pool.
“There were tough times, especially in 1999, during the bombings,” she said. “I thought it would be impossible to continue (playing tennis) because we didn't know how long it would last,” she told Reuters in a 2007 interview.
Among other issues, Ukrainian photographer Mykola Synelnykov’s photo essay features fencers training in rooms strewn with rubble, judo athletes sparring in decimated sports halls, and a children’s football team training in a destroyed stadium.
Synelnykov, 41, said he wants his work to “show the world the monstrous crimes against civilians, athletes, and sports facilities inflicted by the Russian army during the war”.
That may be a political statement but the visuals show that despite these obstacles and impediments, Ukrainian athletes continued to train under adverse conditions.
There are similar stories of those who overcame adversity and hardship to excel in sports and academia. Many have succeeded, and some even reached the pinnacle.
Zeroes treated like heroes
So, why is our football team still languishing at the bottom of the rung despite being provided with all the facilities and training?
Why is the government heaping monetary rewards on a team that has yet to reach any standard, even in the region?
In January, the government said, based on the request by the youth and sports minister, it had agreed to give RM5 million to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to manage the national football team.
That was after they were knocked out of the Asian Cup qualifiers in Doha, yet they were treated as if they had won the Cup!
Even with naturalised citizens, it has not helped, and holding South Korea to a draw and losing the other group matches was no achievement.
I wrote: “When zeroes are treated like heroes; when failures are celebrated; and when a single performance is used as a yardstick, everything will certainly end up as an illusion - to mask mediocrity.”
On Monday, Anwar announced RM15 million “to boost their performance” and took “lessons” from the former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Sir Alex told Anwar that the welfare of each football player in the squad must be prioritised.
But in what context? Certainly not with money because most English Premier League players earn more in weekly wages than the prime minister would earn in a year.
In Malaysia, most players have contracts with their respective clubs and are paid generous allowances during training, medical care and insurance.
Let us not forget that the team that went to Doha was “international“ - 14 members of the 23-member squad were foreigners whose citizenship was fast-tracked and the formalities dispensed with.
Now, each is going to collect about RM500,000 for having achieved nothing.
As of July 18, Malaysia was 134th in the Fifa ranking - far from 75th, the highest ever, in 1993.
Wrong priorities
Compare football to hockey. Malaysia is ranked 13th in the world and often ignored. It must be noted that Malaysians - men and women - play in European hockey leagues.
The same cannot be said of footballers who lack the skills to go beyond our shores, remaining jaguh kampung (village heroes).
For RM15 million, we can train 20 doctors, which will give our health system a much-needed boost. Or we can give 1,500 students from the lower income group bursaries of RM10,000 each for their tertiary education.
In line with the government’s austerity drive, Anwar is not taking a salary; his ministers have taken a 20 percent pay cut.
Now, why throw RM15 million on a group of no-hopers?
Perhaps Anwar should also talk to Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, who famously asked: “Why couldn't you beat a richer club? I have never seen a bag of money score a goal.” - Mkini
R NADESWARAN started his career as a sports reporter and still follows and keeps a keen eye on sports and related happenings. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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