I REFER to the letter, "Welcome Team Singapore home next Monday" from the Singapore Sports Council (my paper, Aug 22).

I agree with the council that we should congratulate and welcome back our table-tennis team for having done Singapore proud by winning a historic silver medal due to their "dedication, perseverance and hard work in putting up an outstanding performance".

Unfortunately, the team did not perform as well as expected in the subsequent singles matches.

The questions in most supporters' minds are: What went wrong and why, despite the players' outstanding skills and intensive training overseas?

Correct me if I am wrong, and please allow me to share my observations.

Our team seem to suffer from the following weaknesses: Inadequate mental preparation and strength, which are vital in matches. However, this is not solely the athletes' fault.

Perhaps insufficient emphasis was given to such matters.

Poor handling of body language during the match, especially after making mistakes and losing the vital opening game.

Note how China's Zhang Yining maintained the same stoic look throughout all the matches.

In some matches, there was a lack of fighting spirit when the chips were down.

Hence, I urge our sports specialists to review our training methods and not to focus solely on skills and strategies, but also on the mental preparation of the athletes, as half the battle is lost due to lack of confidence.

Mr Richard Lim Kim Heng

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