'I just wanted to lose fairly': Singapore Olympic esports player bemoans early exit due to tech difficulties
Siti Zhywee Ramle was Singapore's representative for Just Dance at the Olympic Esports Week.
PHOTO: Instagram/Siti Zhywee Ramle
PUBLISHED ONJune 26, 2023 9:58 AMByKhoo Yi-Hang[UPDATE June 27] The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in response to AsiaOne's queries, said that the Just Dance segment of the Olympic Esports Series was conducted in accordance with rules set by "the Publisher endorsed by the International Federation."
Quoting the "Publisher" and the World DanceSport Federation, the IOC added: "We regret that the player feels like this following the competition, which was run according to the rules."
After training her heart out, one Singaporean esports player felt that she was particularly hard done by after her recent loss at the inaugural Olympic Esports Week.
In an interview with AsiaOne last Saturday (June 24), Singapore's Just Dance esports representative said that she faced an early exit in the competition, and it's partly due to technical difficulties.
Just Dance is a motion-based game by Ubisoft that has players mirror the movements of characters in the game with scores awarded based on accuracy.
The game is part of the inaugural Olympic Esports Week that took place between June 23 and 25 in Singapore, alongside other games like Gran Turismo 7 and Virtual Taekwondo.
Singapore's representative for Just Dance, Siti Zhywee Ramle, made it through to the quarter-finals before being eliminated from the competition by US representative Joseph Gabriel Cordero.
Speaking about her loss, 38-year-old Zhywee, who is also a mother of two sons — one of whom is a special needs child — alleged that there was more to it than just a matter of skill.
"There were a number of technical difficulties during the event… there was something wrong with the Nintendo Switch on his (the American player's) side," the esports athlete began.
For the Olympics' Just Dance competition, contestants gain two points for getting a higher in-game score from the Switch, while the judges can each award one point to their favoured athlete.
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There were three judges during this segment.
However, due to technical problems arising from the device, Switch scores were omitted and Zhywee said she finished with only one point from a judge, while her opponent had two points from the judges.
She explained: "They decided to remove the Switch score and just solely focused on the judges' score without informing me, so it was a little messy… I was backstage and it was a little chaotic because everybody was saying I'm supposed to go to the semi-finals."
There was some initial discussion that suggested Zhywee was to do a rematch, which quickly changed into rumours that she had won, before a sudden decision was made that meant she wouldn't make it to the semi-finals due to time constraints.
Before she understood what was happening backstage, she saw that her opponent, US representative Joseph, was already walking towards the stage to proceed into the semi-finals.
'I had to fight hard'
Adding that it felt like an "emotional roller coaster" with the constantly-changing decisions, Zhywee also recalled how she wasn't informed of the change of rules.
"If they told me there would be a change of rules before I stepped on stage, I would change my approach and strategy," she said.
Because her match was solely based on the judges' discretion, she would have focused more on performance, techniques and theatrics, Zhywee explained.
During her round against Joseph, the latter was visibly more energetic in his movements, which may have swayed judges in his favour.
"It was a bit disappointing… I understand I'm the underdog out of all the players because I don't have experience in physical esports tournaments and usually just participate online… I had to fight hard, but it is what it is," Zhywee acquiesced.
She also admitted: "Of course I'm frustrated. It's supposed to be a good, fun game and competition — I'm okay with losing, but I just wanted to lose fairly.
"Like any other competition, you just want to give it your best, and even if you lose, you accept the loss because the better player won. I'm not saying my opponent is not the better player, but it's just that it's questionable."
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Game over for her?
The bad taste that's been left in Zhywee's mouth has seemingly discouraged her from considering a second attempt at Olympics Esports.
Her main concerns stem from the technical problems that exist in the competition — if they could be resolved, then she would consider taking part again.
"I'll never say never to considering it… maybe if it (technical issues) could be sorted out 100 per cent, then at least we can know that all our efforts aren't wasted," she stated.
Hazarding a guess as to why there were technical issues, Zhywee said that the Switch is a Bluetooth device, and it's possible that the large crowds of people with mobile devices could have affected connectivity.
Another problem she was concerned about was the lack of time she had to prepare for the competition.
According to Zhywee, players were only informed of it about a month and a half before the Olympics began.
"[For any sports], people train for years to go to the Olympics. For Olympic esports, we get six weeks, and we are scrambling for our lives.
"Just Dance isn't my full-time job unlike the other players, hence I felt it was a disadvantage for me."
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Zhywee is a fitness professional who teaches about three to four classes per week, covering Zumba, Fight-do and yoga.
The highly physical nature of her work, on top of her being a caregiver of two boys, means that she has little time and energy to spare on Just Dance practice, she said.
However, she still managed to dedicate about one to four hours a day for practice.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MttJLb4JL9o[/embed]
"I still love to play and win in the game… What I had was a wonderful experience and golden opportunity. Now I can put in my resume that I represented Singapore for the Olympic Esports Week, which I never in a million years ever thought I'd be associated with."
She added: "For now, I can't say that I will join again in the future… The journey was good and intense, but of course I'm not too happy with the outcome."
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
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