Saturday, June 26, 2004

For the past few days I caught the 13th South-east Asia Women Junior Volleyball Championships at Toa Payoh Sports Hall. And boy was it an eye opener.

I saw how solid the Thailand players were. Even when the other team was leading they were not the least bit nervous or hesitant (they must be putting on a very good facade if they were nervous becus it didn't show at all). Their spikes were lightningly fast and thunderously threatening, and they are all below 19 years old! No wonder Thailand's always the best in the region.

Here's the results:

1st Thailand
2nd Singapore
3rd Vietnam
4th Malaysia
5th Myanmar
6th Laos

Well for the ranking I must say some of the teams do not deserve to be where they are - whether for better or for worse. But I guess, like what a coach told me, to win, one team will be either lousy or not playin up to standard while the other on form. How very true. I couldnt agree more. As we all always say: the ball is round, anything and everything can happen, whether you like it or not.

Anyways, through watching this competition, I have found 2 players whom are my inspirational motivations to achieve better results in my playing of volleyball.

One player showed me how to beat all odds and overcome natural physical shortcomings to be a notch above the rest. She showed me that height is not a definite problem, and that it can be compensated with good skills.

Another player, I really admire her sportsmanship (or sportswomanship, in this case). Unlike the rest, she does not challenge the referee's judgement. And most importantly, what I really like about her is, even after she wins a game, if she feels its not well-deserved, it is clearly written on her face that she feels no euphoria, even though that win is an upset in history.

I think sports is really an enjoyable thing, esp if you're playing competitive. You get to meet all sorts of players and people, and in the end, although winning is important, its not the most important. A few years down the road, who's gonna remember you are the one who spiked that last winning ball? At the end of the day, its that sportsmanship, that sharing of passion with players from other places, that really really matters.

writing at 6:25 PM

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