On the morning of 22 Feb, nearly a week after Soh Rui Yong responded to the fact that he hadn’t been selected for 2022 South-East Asian (SEA) Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, Singapore’s top marathon runner has publicly apologised to the Singapore National Olympics Council (SNOC) and vowed to reflect on himself.
Furthermore, he announced that he will not be appealing to the committee to be selected for the SEA Games.
The Crux of the Conflict
Starting from 2017, Soh has had a few clashes with the Singapore Athletics (SA) and the SNOC over several issues.
It first begun with a perceived breach in the promotion of personal sponsors at the 2017 SEA Games when there’s supposed to be a “blackout period” during major events, then Soh protesting about having to give 20% of his $10,000 cash prize back to SA for the training and facilities they have provided him with.
In between 2018 to 2022, there have been two defamation lawsuits involving Soh Rui Yong:
- His fellow marathoner Ashley Liew suing him for alleging that his act of sportsmanship during the 2015 SEA Games wasn’t an objective fact, thus damaging his reputation
- Soh personally suing Syed Abdul Malik, a former Executive Director of SA for his defamatory comments online, as well as contending other remarks made on official correspondences
Sprinkled in between these incidents are a few sparse remarks and blog posts criticising SA and SNOC, but that’s the general summary of the events that have transpired.
Soh’s Exclusion from the 2019 and 2022 SEA Games
Because of the conflicts between the 30-year-old runner and national organisations and team, Soh was excluded from the list of athletes participating in the SEA Games twice under the same pretext:
Soh’s general conduct has “fallen short of the standards of attitude and behaviour that SNOC expects of and holds its athletes to”.
In response to media inquiries, the SNOC spokesperson even explicitly stated the expectations that needed to be met.
“Such criteria include meeting objective qualifying standards, as well as non-performance related standards and qualities such as attitude and behaviour towards coaches, fellow athletes, and officials (whether in relation to sporting matters or otherwise, conduct and character which may affect the reputation, image, values or best interests of the athlete or the sport, and the ability to demonstrate team spirit and work well with teammates and officials.”
From that single paragraph alone, it’s evident that there are some criteria that are insinuating which qualities Soh had fallen short in.
Soh might have comfortably placed himself in the position to slip into the seeded positions at major games with his national running records, but his attitude became the blockade that prevented it.
Soh: “I Apologise and Will Do Better”
Compared to his younger self, it can definitely be said that Soh has matured.
In his Facebook post, he wrote, “I fully recognise that athletes representing Singapore should do our best to serve as a role model to our youth. In my view, that includes standing up for what is right, no matter the cost.
“However, I acknowledge that I could have handled certain disputes in the past differently. I could have been more respectful and sensitive in my approach. For that I apologise and I will do better.”
Following that, Soh emphasised that his apology wasn’t drafted for the sake of obtaining a place on the team. He expresses that he comes from a place of sincerity and acknowledges that he’s made mistakes in the past.
For the same reasons, he will try his best to become a better person in the future.
Well-Wishes for the Singaporean Team
At the end of the post, he calls out to the 330 athletes who have been selected for the Hanoi SEA Games and congratulates them on this achievement, hoping that they, too, will become inspirational stories with their own victories.
“The beautiful thing about sports is that it unites us and it should not be a divide instead. I hope we can be united as one as Team Singapore fights to chase the dreams we have all worked so hard for.”
Rather than have his fellow athletes be shadowed by his controversies, Soh would rather they be placed in the limelight, where they rightfully deserve to be.
Mending Broken Bridges
Without a shadow of a doubt, the public apology is an attempt to make amends to the SNOC and SA.
It can even be seen as a direct response to the SNOC spokesperson’s statement that he hadn’t made any efforts to reconcile with the national organisation.
However, it is crucial to point out that SNOC and SA honestly hold a great deal of power in deciding the trajectory of Soh’s future career in sports.
Afterall, any and all participation of athletes in Major Games have to be submitted through Member Associates, which for Singaporean athletes, is the SNOC.
Besides the SEA Games, Soh has also met the qualifying standards for the marathon event at the Hangzhou Asian Games that is occurring in September.
Thus far, Soh Rui Yong is the first and only Singaporean who has qualified to do so.
His chances of competing at the Asian Game hinges on the SNOC’s selection committee as well, which is still being chaired by SNOC President Tan Chun-Jin.
As to whether the apology will be enough to let bygones be bygones, the list submitted by the SNOC before the Asian Games might just be the answer.
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Featured Image: Runsohfast
