I had this conversation with Stuart days ago, and today, I read that Antony Lee, the manager of our Singapore table tennis team had been given the red card. His fault? For not doing his job properly of allocating a coach to Gao Ning when he was playing against Croatia.

Gao Ning, Singapore’s top male paddler lost very badly. He was in tears after the match was over. One can easily empathise with him and understand why he was in such distress.

Though I have never watched him play, but there must be a reason why he is the top male player here. And the fact that he lost such a crushing defeat is telling.

So, how important is a coach? And what role exactly does a coach play during a match? I wondered.

After watching some matches, I observed that the reasons why people like Wang Yining and even the South Korean who beat our very own Li Jiawei twice won, and the others lost. Stripping away the amount of pressure any athlete bears on their shoulders, their skills and physical condition, ultimately it boils down to only one thing. This factor that can make or break a match. It’s the mental strength.

How strong are our athletes mentally? How do they fare when they are under immense pressure? How do they cope psychologically when they are on the losing end?

I understand that all athletes undergo some form of sports counselling, but I don’t know what exactly are they trained for and how are they trained. I am only interested to know how the athletes view their coaches as.

Do they see their coach as a strategist? Someone who is sitting at a third party position and viewing the game in an angle that the player himself couldn’t have possibly viewed? Someone who can give the player on-the-spot strategies and tactics to beat their opponents?

Or is the coach an emotional support for the player? If the coach plays dual roles, then which one should be the dominant one?

If Gao Ning lost because he didn’t have the advantage of a strategist to give him real time feedback and advice, then yes, he shouldn’t have lost because of an error.

And if he played as well as what his standard would be even without a coach around, I guess he would have felt better too.

But if he lost because he was emotionally shattered that he had to fight a battle alone, without a coach to be there as an emotional anchor, then I really like to ask all the athletes a question: How well conditioned are they mentally for a world-class competiion like Olympics?

Once again, I didn’t watch that fatal game, so I’m not commenting on how he played that day. But I’m using this case (since it happened) to illustrate the concept of mental control.  

It may be the coach this time, but it may be someone else the next round. As an athlete, shouldn’t their only focus be on the game, and on beating their opponents? I think the player is in his best form when he is completely devoid of any emotions. Especially if they can’t control their emotions well, then it’s best that they don’t feel any. The whole game will be about the motion, focus and concentration. Nothing short of 100% focus can do.

Can an athlete allow himself to be emotionally attached to a person for strength, perseverance and most importantly, belief in himself? In my opinion, if they are, then it’s a recipe for disaster. Getting a medal is then really a matter of having some luck on our side as we hope and pray that our players are not affected by the odds against them and still play as they would at home.

It’s a mental game, really. What they tell themselves before the game and during the game cannot be underestimated.

I know it’s very hard to have utmost control over one’s mind and feelings. Under normal circumstances, it already requires lots of discipline to achieve it. Needless to say, when extreme pressure piles up, they need even more command over their mind.

I can’t do it, I admit. That is why it’s not easy to be a professional sportsperson. Much less a world champion. Not many can make it there, but there are those selected few.

That’s why we have to take our hats off to those people who have made it to the top. They have shown to the world what it means to be in control. Of the game, of the sport, of themselves.