IT IS a pity that former national shuttler Zhang Beiwen has been winning tournaments in a United States shirt in recent years, despite being Singaporean ("Zhang enjoys new focus"; April 3).
Credit should be given to Singapore for bringing her into the fold of the national badminton squad when she was just in her early teens.
When she was here, she received the benefits a full-time professional athlete gets, and was developed into one of our top shuttlers.
Her differences with former coach Luan Ching eventually led to her having to leave the national team.
For a young girl whose life revolved around badminton, it must have been a time of uncertainty, and even anguish.
Of course, ill discipline by a professional athlete, including showing disrespect to her national chief coach, cannot be condoned, and the Singapore Badminton Association did what it had to do. However, let us not forget that mankind is imperfect. Zhang may have erred, but she has paid the penalty.
She has said that she misses being in a team. Her recent performances on the court are testimony to her diligence and discipline, as well as fighting spirit.
This year, as we prepare to host the SEA Games, Singapore badminton fans would love to see our strongest team fielded.
We have lost a number of our top women shuttlers in recent years. I hope we can forgive our "prodigal daughter" and invite her to return home to serve our nation once more.
Edwin Pang
Credit should be given to Singapore for bringing her into the fold of the national badminton squad when she was just in her early teens.
When she was here, she received the benefits a full-time professional athlete gets, and was developed into one of our top shuttlers.
Her differences with former coach Luan Ching eventually led to her having to leave the national team.
For a young girl whose life revolved around badminton, it must have been a time of uncertainty, and even anguish.
Of course, ill discipline by a professional athlete, including showing disrespect to her national chief coach, cannot be condoned, and the Singapore Badminton Association did what it had to do. However, let us not forget that mankind is imperfect. Zhang may have erred, but she has paid the penalty.
She has said that she misses being in a team. Her recent performances on the court are testimony to her diligence and discipline, as well as fighting spirit.
This year, as we prepare to host the SEA Games, Singapore badminton fans would love to see our strongest team fielded.
We have lost a number of our top women shuttlers in recent years. I hope we can forgive our "prodigal daughter" and invite her to return home to serve our nation once more.
Edwin Pang
