3rd Oct 2004

Our Olympics....a sorry outing?

The Olympics which was held in Athens recently was to many Malaysians, an event of no significance to us. The poor outing of our Malaysian contingent is perhaps one of the reasons, why this world event is so quickly forgotten...

Who's fault is it that our country fared so badly? Is it only the sportsman & sportswomen that we should blame? The witch hunting exercise has become so bad that for instance, some of  our national badminton team members were not allowed to play in other international events until a concise report was made on their failures...this is the state we have become - a nation of finger pointing!

I do not want to blame anyone for the failures but people forget that first and foremost - it is a sports. It is NOT a money earning possibility although I do agree some money must be spent to get the correct equipment, coaching and training venue etc. But the expenses or fees must be reasonable and competitive. It is indeed sad to hear that the government has spent some millions of ringgit of the tax payers money and that was the end result.....

So why do I talk about the lack-lustre performance of our sports in a karting website? Karting IS A SPORT! The driver, just like any sportsman must be dedicated and very keen in the sports before anything else. He must be willing to spend hours on the track practising, off the track cleaning & setting up his equipment and many hours more reading & learning about his driving, equipment, his competition. With an increasing competition experience and proper coaching, he will probably need to shortly take his food diet seriously, does a fitness routine in the gym and even maybe learn a bit about grooming & communication, if he want to be a champion beyond karting.

Behind all the glamour of wearing a racesuit, emulating his F1 heroes...it is a sports which takes talent, physical strength and dedication in trying to be the best - world's best. Dun fool yourself into thinking you can go faster if you helmet is chrome plated...

Naturally, a driver needs the proper equipment and correct coaches but the first and foremost asset is the driver himself. Have the wrong attitude - you lose yourself and do not gain any respect from your mechanics, coaches. A potential sponsor could be watching you from afar - on your performance on and off track. A guy is always winning on track may not be always getting the right sponsors and media attention. Yes, it happens and a sponsor wants to invest in someone who is committed to his sports and ultimately reward his sponsors.

Now back to our Olympians.....the story is winning requires a athlete who is hungry, talented of course but first thing hungry. He also needs proper package behind him - be it equipment or coaches. Now, you judge yourself where we went wrong.....well, shooting him will not help but like all things we want to do well, do concentrate on our young and our education system. ( sounds like a Malay proverb I know...)

....Safe Driving and racing!