By Chia Han Keong

ON SUNDAY night, I walked out of the National Stadium's media room and sighed loudly as I reflected on Singapore's crushing 0-1 Suzuki Cup loss to Vietnam.

The Lions dominated the entire second-leg semi-final, but they just couldn't score.

Yet, by the time I reached the carpark, I had become somewhat less angry with the Lions' wasted opportunities.

They have merely been hit by a case of "sports karma".

You see, sport has this insidious way of making sure that "what goes around, comes around".

If you win too many times or dominate for far too long, you will suffer eventually. Conversely, if you're a perennial punching bag, you can always look forward to sweet, unexpected triumphs.

Seasoned football fans know this feeling better than most.

They knew the Lions would be punished for squandering their chances; they've seen countless instances of hot favourites being upset by a single moment of inspiration from the underdogs.

And as Singapore were the two-time defending champions - unbeaten in nearly six years - the odds were against them.

Yes, they have given their all, but numerous injuries exposed their dearth of clinical scorers at the worst possible moment.

Still, even though they have let down their fans badly on Sunday, it was hardly the disgraceful 0-4 capitulation against Malaysia in 2002 - the Lions' last loss in the competition.

So blame karma for biting back at the Lions: They have ridden on their luck long enough in the Suzuki Cup.

And blame karma, too, for failing to put the finishing touch to a stellar year of sport in Singapore.

We have had one success after another, from clinching the right to host the inaugural Youth Olympics, to the table tennis team's silver victory at the Beijing Olympics; from Tao Li's Swimming World Cup golds, to Jasmine Yeong-Nathan's triumph at the Bowling World Cup.

It could have been the perfect ending had the Lions won their third straight Suzuki Cup, but here's where the unpredictability of sport rears its head and says: "You can't have it all your way."

So, by all means, criticise the Lions for letting you down and wasting your precious time and money. But know that, had you been a golf fan, Sunday remains a wonderful day for Singapore.

That is because the ever-likeable Lam Chih Bing finally won his first Asian Tour title, erasing years of frustrating crunch-time failures with his Volvo Masters of Asia triumph in Bangkok.

When one set of heroes falters, there will be others to take over. That's the nature of sport.

We've just got to live with it.

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