WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (13-19 Dec)
SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (13 to 19 December):
Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder clinches title at Youth Sailing World Championships
Singapore kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder overcame an opening-race crash to win 14 out of 18 races and emerge champion in the Formula Kite men's competition at the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships in Muscat, Oman on Friday (17 December).
The 15-year-old finished with 16 nett points, winning the competition with two races to spare ahead of Italy's Riccardo Pianosi (25 points) and Russia's Mikhail Novikov (30).
The win marked a stellar year for the Switzerland-based Maximilian, as he has also won the Formula Kite Youth (Under-19) World Championships and the European Championships. He also rose to the top of the men's Formula Kite world rankings in September.
SMBC Singapore Open raises prize purse
Next month's SMBC Singapore Open golf tournament will come with an increased prize purse of US$1.25 million (S$1.71 million), up from the US$1 million previously on offer.
The men's tournament, which will be held at the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club from 20 to 23 January, will decide the Asian Tour Order of Merit winner. It will make its return after a hiatus in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All players and officials will adhere to strict protocols including pre-departure tests and tests on arrival, while all onsite personnel will also undergo all necessary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all parties. Spectators are unlikely to be allowed, but limited hospitality is being planned.
Cyclists Darren Lim, Arfan Haisal to join Australian Cycling Academy
National-team cyclists Darren Lim and Arfan Faisal have been selected to join the Australian Cycling Academy (ACA) on a Singapore Cycling Federation (SCF) scholarship.
The Straits Times reported that the duo will be part of the ACA's UCI Continental team, who compete on the UCI Oceania Tour, and could take part in up to 20 races in Australia next year.
The arrangement is part of a memorandum of understanding between the ACA and SCF to aid talent development, which signed in November and runs until 2024.
Lim and Arfan will be primarily based on the Sunshine Coast for at least six months next year. Their SCF scholarships will cover accommodation, meals, equipment, coaching and training costs.
Winners at the SingaCup football competition
The winners of the SingaCup 4v4 youth football competition were unearthed after the finals at The Cage Sports Park on Sunday (19 December).
The two-day football tournament saw 318 participants playing across four age groups, and the winners are:
Boys' Under-14: Amigos
Boys' Under-16: ALFA
Girls' Under-16: 4-IN-1
Girls' Open: Tiong Bahru FC
This year's event adopted a hybrid format featuring physical and virtual activities including an online FIFA competition.
Geylang International sign four foreign recruits
Geylang International have completed the signings of four foreign players as the Eagles start their rebuilding process ahead of the 2022 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season.
French national Vincent Bezecourt is the latest recruit, joining Japan’s Takahiro Tezuka, Rio Sakuma and Croatian Sime Zuzul as the quartet aim to lift the Eagles from their sixth-place showing in the 2021 SPL season.
Midfielder Bezecourt, 28, joins from Armenian Premier League side Alashkert Yerevan, and had previously played for New York Red Bulls in the Major League Soccer in the United States for three seasons. Meanwhile, striker Zuzul joins from rival SPL club Balestier Khalsa, where he had scored 30 goals in three seasons.
Ex-Albirex Niigata midfielderTezuka is expected to marshal and spark creativity, while defender Sakuma - who also played for Albirex in 2020 - returns to the league after a season with Cambodia's Tiffy Army.
Geylang have also signed three local players from Balestier Khalsa - Ahmad Syahir, Fadli Kamis and Hazzuwan Halim - as well as former Tampines Rovers midfielder Huzaifah Aziz.
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