WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (26 Dec - 1 Jan)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (26 December to 1 January):

Men's doubles shuttlers reach junior world No.1 spot

Singapore's men's doubles pair of Nge Joo Jie and Johann Prajogo ended the year at the top of the world junior rankings in the latest list released by the Badminton World Federation on Tuesday (27 December).

The two 18-year-olds climbed two spots to overtake Indonesia’s Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Patra Harapan Rindorindo, and become only the second junior world No.1 shuttlers from Singapore, after Yeo Jia Min became women's singles junior world No.1 in 2017.

The youngsters have been doubles partners for three years since they were both studying at Singapore Sports School, and won two junior titles this year, at the Bulgaria Junior Open Championship and the Croatia Valamar Junior Open.

They also reached the quarter-finals of the World Junior Championships in Santander, where they lost 21-13, 21-17 to China’s eventual champions Xu Huayu and Zhu Yijun.

Ong Zhe Sim clinches Scottish Junior Open squash title

Singapore's junior squash player Ong Zhe Sim has clinched the Scottish Junior Open girls’ Under-15 title in Edinburgh on Friday (30 December).

The Straits Times reported that the 14-year-old Methodist Girls' School student defeated Malaysia’s Keertty Haridharan 11-3, 11-2, 11-2 in the final to win her first European title.

Zhe Sim was seeded joint-fifth in the competition, and had defeated third-seeded Scot Ella Bannister 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 in the earlier rounds. She also overcame fellow joint fifth seed Maitra Sarbani of Australia 11-7, 16-14, 11-6 in the semi-finals.

She will continue to compete in Europe, taking part in the British Junior Open this week.

SPL Player of the Year joins Lion City Sailors

Last season's Singapore Premier League (SPL) Player of the Year Kodai Tanaka has made a transfer from champions Albirex Niigata (Singapore) to closest rivals Lion City Sailors.

The 23-year-old finished the 2022 SPL season as its second-highest scorer with 33 goals, to go with his 10 assists in 28 appearances.

“The Sailors have a long-term vision of becoming a top club in Asian football and are laying down good foundations for success by investing in youth development, so it is a project that I very much want to be part of,” he said in a media statement by the Sailors on Monday (26 December).

The Sailors, who finished as the top local side last season, are in the play-offs for a place in next season’s Asian Football Confederation Champions League.

Resorts World Sentosa holds football clinic with Mikael Silvestre

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) hosted the RWS Charity Football Clinic on Wednesday (28 December), with former French international footballer Mikael Silvestre conducted drills for some 30 children.

The children, who are all from families in need under the People’s Association and Sport Singapore's charity arm SportCares, had the chance to train at The Coliseum with Silvestre, who played with top clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Inter Milan. They also took part in friendly matches against one another.

On the back of the school holiday period, RWS has worked with partners to kick off the football clinic to help build the confidence of children from families in need through learning new sport skills.

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