August 13, 2016, 01:43 PM 
There were a few lucky Singaporeans who got to watch Schooling's history-making swim right next to the pool in Rio.
One of them was Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu.
She posted a picture of herself with Schooling and his mother (with Tan Chuan-Jin doing a slight photobomb).
It was a nice picture.
Some comments weren't all too encouraging though.
It isn't really on her, though...
Comments seemed to place the blame on Fu for the Olympics almost not having a live telecast.
Which is strange because Mediacorp was the one who initially decided against a live telecast, before mounting public pressure lead to a renegotiation.
Particularly ironic because there has been nothing but praise on Mediacorp's Facebook page.
So why the misdirected fire?
One possible reason for the comments made on Fu's page could be how they felt about comments she made about the possible scenario of a delayed Rio telecast.
"So I think that while Singaporeans are still very concerned and interested in the performance of our athletes, I'm sure many of them will try to catch up and watch the Games at a later time."
Now, that's a perfectly pragmatic answer.
Mediacorp's decision was pragmatic as well, the time zone factor was indeed an issue to take note of when spending millions of dollars on a telecast that might not feature many Singaporeans at all.
If we were rather certain that a Singaporean athlete could have gotten gold, or even a podium place, then maybe the issue of a live telecast wouldn't be one, because well of course we must get live telecast.
But, no one could have predicted a gold medal right?
Not exactly.
Here's what Schooling said after his semifinal swim.
“(Yes) that’s another benchmark (the new Asian record). (But) it’s all about winning the gold medal, I don’t care about breaking the world record and getting a silver or bronze, so I still lost. It’s all about winning.”
He was aiming for a gold medal.
Not all of our athletes might say it, but to get to the Olympics and not contemplate the possibility of winning it all is an oxymoron of sorts.
Every single athlete in the Singapore contingent travelling to Rio has put in countless hours perfecting their craft.
The least we can do is to believe that their effort is enough to secure the ultimate victory.
And maybe it will be easier to believe in them now — after all, we've just heard the national anthem in Rio.
More about Joseph Schooling's historic victory for Singapore:
Tan Chuan-Jin captures tender moment of Schooling speaking to his dad on the phone
4D number 5039 is sold out because Joseph Schooling
Few months of neglect later, lady’s Tinder match is now Olympic Gold medallist Joseph Schooling
Singapore congratulates Joseph Schooling on his Historic Olympic win
40 thoughts S’poreans must have had while watching the historic swim by Joseph Schooling live
Joseph Schooling sets Olympic record, clinches Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal ever
Top image from Grace Fu's Facebook page
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