Story and pictures by Leslie Tan
Kang Yee Cher of Fuhua wins the 300m D-Boys Final in 43.84s, way ahead of the pack. (Photo 1 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Thursday, July 3, 2008 – Kang Yee Cher of Fuhua Primary won the long jump gold earlier this week in the 49th Inter-Primary Track and Field Championships. His jump of 4.74m was 74cm further than his closest challenger and is also a new record. This afternoon, Yee Cher won the 300m D-Boys Final in a time of 43.84 seconds, almost six seconds faster than his closest competitor.
Yee Cher, who stands head and shoulders above his Primary 4 cohort, attracted intrusive media attention last year because critics doubted his age. However, the Ministry of Education confirmed that the birth documents of this Vietnamese-born Singapore citizen were in order and this year he continues to run for Fuhua Primary.
Given his prodigious talents, Yee Cher is now training with the Singapore Sports School, a conducive training environment that should encourage him further in the sprints. He is still attracting attention, with a mainstream media reporter and photographer showing up just to take his picture and interview him with no desire to cover any of the other finals. Yee Cher, who declined to speak to the reporter, seems to have learnt from last year’s torrid experience when he was made the subject of at least two newspaper articles questioning his real age. Certainly an uncomfortable experience for anyone, never mind a youth.
To stand out for whatever reason in school is tough for anyone. Too fat, and you get teased. Too small, and you get bullied. Too slow, and you get left behind. Now Yee Cher, through no fault of his own, finds himself with a remarkable gift – he is big for his age. As far as his critics are concerned, too big for his age. He is not oblivious to the critics. After his 300m win, noticing the cameras, he keeps his eyes averted to the floor. He doesn’t celebrate his wins and walks off quietly.
With the right support from coaches and schools, Kang Yee Cher may one day win a significant sprint medal for Singapore. Let’s hope his enthusiasm doesn’t get extinguished along the way and is given the time and space to come into his own.
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World-class 9-year-old sprinter right here in Singapore?
Kang Yee Cher stands heads and shoulders above the rest. (Photo 2 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)
Kang Yee Cher of Fuhua jumped 4.74m to set a new D-Boys long jump record. (Photo 3 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)
you guys are just lame and jealous about his talent. stop posting articles about him. I am his friend and i know how he feel went he saw his photo at the newpaper.
stop that and start traning your runner/jumper/sprinter. get it
But u are also a good runner/sprinter.
I can run less than 11 sec.
I can run faster than him.
HIS MY FRINED HE RILLI RUN VERY FAST , AND I CANT BEELIVE IT ~~~ !!! OMG
You know .. by posting all these articles, yee cher hates it you know ? I’ve talked to yee cher before,he’s really sad to see his face on the cover of the newspaper. He HATES to be famous , can you stop posting stuff about him ?
I think the parents and critics who doubted and boo-ed him are plain childish. Why are you jealous of someone’s victory?
If he should withdraw from the sporting scene as he was verbally abused, you should regret for his life.
We should embrace his talent, not put him down. Leave him alone, traumatic experiences stays for life.
[…] an article about […]
Thank you for your opinion, kettle black. Appreciate that you took the time to engage me.
no it’s just that i hate hypocrites.
all is good.
I did not speak to him precisely because I did not want to make him feel uncomfortable. Last year, I did not speak to him either for the same reason. The mainstream media approached him but he declined to comment this year. I presume that is why there is no article on Yee Cher yet in the press because they don’t run stories without quotes.
The crux of all your comments is this:
Does a sports writer have the right to make judgements or have opinions of what he observes?
If I do, then, as a reader, you have the same right to judge my story.
If I don’t, then, as a reader, you do not have the same right to judge my story.
Your comments indicate that I don’t have the right to make a judgement or opinion that you don’t agree with.
But you must be consistent. If I don’t have the right to make a judgement of what I’ve observed, then you cannot come in to say that my article is holier-than-thou in attitude.
What’s good for the gander is good for the goose.
So assuming both of us have the same rights, in that spirit, I disagree with your opinion that my article is holier-than-thou. My article states a fact – that as far as we can tell, there was no desire to cover any other finals at the inter-primary track and field and they were just zooming in on him. An uncomfortable state for anyone under such media scrutiny.
But thank you in any case for stating your judgement and opinion.
The only good I hope for is this: that Kang Yee Cher, blessed with such prodigious talent at such a young age, will one day run for Singapore and win a medal.
I am quoting this.
“After his 300m win, noticing the cameras, he keeps his eyes averted to the floor. He doesn’t celebrate his wins and walks off quietly.”
The holier-than-thou attitude of the whole story seems to absolve redsports of any blame.
It blames all his uneasiness on the mainstream media.
That is all I’m saying.
You may write an encouraging article but at the point where he finishes the race, with you snapping away at him, he has no idea about it.
He might think that this is a repeat of last year’s scenario, with all this attention.
Therefore, you are, at that point in time, making him feel uncomfortable.
Unless you spoke to him of course, but I’d think you would mention it.
My main point is that you seem to accuse the mainstream media being the sole cause of kang’s uneasiness and I think it is rather unfair as you are not doing anything much differently from them.
You both took pictures of him finishing the race, you took pictures of him before the race, I don’t think he spoke to you either as I don’t see any quotes. You two aren’t very different in the way you behaved.
You can’t really place blame solely on them, while thinking you are entirely innocent.
I just don’t think it is fair.
As far as I know, there is no article out in the mainstream media about him yet, regarding his recent wins, so I think we cannot really comment on this.
wah lao…YeeCher again ar..
see until sian already man. lol kidding
Good job on winning and all the best in the future!
Kettle, I suggest you read the news in context and objectively, too.
“Certainly an uncomfortable experience for anyone, never mind a youth.” – refers to his uncomfortable experience of being accused of cheating by the media. (cf. the paragraph)
Ask any youth athlete, it is always a dream to see his victory pictures in the news. It is not the shooting per se that caused the discomfort and definitely not by a photographer who is there shooting the entire event vis-a-vis a photographer who has come down just to shoot him with the sole intention of stirring controversy.
I’m surprised by your sensitivity, because the take home message for me after reading this article on Red Sports is a reminder of the power of media (be it mainstream or non-mainstream) in making or breaking an athlete. It goes down to the angle/intention of the story determined by the newsmaker.
So I’d give credit to this news for finally bringing some closure to the unpleasant saga Yee Cher went through – I don’t remember any news anywhere confirming his age. If the media started it, they are responsible for resolving it instead of leaving it hanging or worse, continuing to serve as a buffer for the controversy.
kettle is black. as usual 🙂
Your comment: You were also taking pictures of him. Have you thought that you might have been the one making him feel uncomfortable too?
My reply: Yes, I was taking pictures of him, as well as the other finals too from Monday to Thursday. Yes, I do know my presence may cause him to feel uncomfortable but my story on him is factual and meant to be encouraging to him.
Your comment: In light of this behaviour, I find the self-righteous tone that you adopt throughout the report is rather ironic. (sic)
My reply: You give no indication of which sentence, phrase or word suggests a self-righteous tone. If you point it out, it would be a lot clearer for all. It is rather a sweeping unsubstantiated statement.
Your comment: Clearly you have not thought about the consequences of your seemingly innocent actions.
My reply: Yee Cher’s athletic ability is worthy of a story. He is a an outstanding talent who should be encouraged to represent Singapore. Hence the story.
Your comment: You have not (sic) right to pass judgement on anyone in your current position.
My reply: I am not sure what judgement I seem to have passed. On the mainstream media? I am just stating what they did – which was to show up to just cover Yee Cher. I noticed it because I was there on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And I was the only photojournalist there until Thursday. They showed up for Yee Cher’s final only. Then they left.
Of course, a minor point is that your comment is passing judgement on me, thus a fundamental contradiction of your overall comment. Seems the kettle is black after all?
I guess you haven’t covered an entire track & field session by yourself before? Where else would you stand but the finishing line to capture the picture of the winner coming in?
There is a fine line drawn between taking a picture for news, and taking a picture for a “tabloid”. Through my years of shooting, it’s the “tabloid” kind of photo taking that generates the uncomfortable experience. Two photographers can stand side by side at the same position but one person might lead the subject to feel more uncomfortable than the other.
While at Red Sports, we have seen people from the mainstream media try to dig up negative publicity about school sports. I am sure uncle les is making a statement not out of pure instinct, but by experience and an understanding of the trends.
We try our very best to remain neutral and put forth the stories to our readers. But sometimes it is difficult to let readers know the situation and the circumstances leading up to the event happening.
You are mistakened.
My point is that he is judging other people.
Saying that their behaviour is making yee cher feel uncomfortable.
His tone seems to excuse himself from any blame but he is as responsible as anyone else for generating that “uncomfortable experience” by taking pictures of yee cher.
From the angle of the shots, it is quite clear he was at the finish line, probably just clicking away as well.
It is his fingerpointing and judgemental tone that angers me.
Apparently you have not thought about the reason uncle les was there as well. He was there to cover the entire track event, not only of Yee Cher (unlike some mainstream media reporter and photographer)
Are u suggesting that we don’t cover any event with Yee Cher in it just because we might make him feel uncomfortable? Then wouldn’t it be unfair to the other participants in the event?
If everyone adopted the same attitude as you, then there will be no Red Sports to begin with.
“Certainly an uncomfortable experience for anyone, never mind a youth.”
and
“After his 300m win, noticing the cameras, he keeps his eyes averted to the floor. He doesn’t celebrate his wins and walks off quietly.”
You were also taking pictures of him. Have you thought that you might have been the one making him feel uncomfortable too?
In light of this behaviour, I find the self-righteous tone that you adopt throughout the report is rather ironic.
Clearly you have not thought about the consequences of your seemingly innocent actions.
You have not right to pass judgement on anyone in your current position.