WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (5-11 Jun)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (5 to 11 June):

Danelle Tan is first Asian woman footballer to join Borussia Dortmund

Singapore women's footballer Danelle Tan has signed a one-year contract to play with German giants Borussia Dortmund, becoming the first Asian female footballer to join the illustrious club.

The 18-year-old, who will complete her A levels at the Mill Hill School in London this month, had trained for week with Dortmund in February. She caught the eye of Svenja Schlenker, the club's head of women’s football, and soon received a proposal to join the club permanently.

Dortmund's women's team were formed in 2021, and are now in the fifth tier of the league system, having gained promotion in each of the last two season.

Tan became the first female Singaporean to play in a European league when she turned out for the London Bees in the amateur FA Women’s National League South in February. Upon joining Dortmund, she will forgo her spot and part-athletic scholarship at the College of William and Mary (W&M) in Virginia in the United States, where she was slated to begin in January 2024.

Para-athletes clinch 12 golds at ASEAN Para Games

Singapore's para-athletes won a total of 12 golds, 15 silvers and 17 bronzes at the ASEAN Para Games (APG), which was held in Cambodia from 3 to 9 June.

Their showing is the fourth-best performance at an away APG, with their best showing being at the inaugural edition in 2001 (16 golds, nine silvers, 12 bronzes). Singapore recorded their best APG performance on home soil in 2015, when they clinched 24 golds, 17 silvers and 22 bronzes.

Siblings Colin and Sophie Soon were the big winners in the swimming pool, finishing on the podium in every event they raced in. Colin, 18, bagged four golds and one silver, while Sophie, 25, won three golds.

The other gold medallists for Singapore are: swimmers Toh Wei Soong (three golds) and Wong Zhi Wei (one gold), and shot put thrower Muhammad Diroy Noordin (one gold).

Income Eco Run returns after three-year hiatus

Close to 3,000 runners took part in the fourth edition of the Income Eco Run on Sunday (11 June), which returned after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants ran past iconic landmarks such as Gardens by The Bay, the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant, ArtScience Museum and the National Stadium.

Guest-of-honour Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, led the second flag-off at 7.30am and ran five kilometres to support the cause.

This year's Income Eco Run took on an unprecedented run format where participants chose their preferred run distance between 3km and 21.1km. Collectively, a total distance of 27,122km was clocked by the participants, which translates to $30,000 raised for the Zero Waste cause.

Runners received a reusable hydration cup that they used to refill water at hydration stations along the run route. This implementation is estimated to have saved more than 9,600 paper cups and in turn, a reduction of 48 kg in waste produced.

Runners were also encouraged to run in their own orange T-shirts or past Income Eco Run race tees to promote reusing and recycling of existing clothes, saving 135kg of materials that would have been used to produce new race T-shirts. Running bibs were also reduced in size to minimise material wastage. Additionally, the run handed out e-certificates instead of medals, resulting in 169kg of materials saved.

Nishgaya names Lions squad for friendlies; 5 earn first call-ups

Singapore men’s national football team head coach Takayuki Nishigaya has on Friday (8 June) named 26 players to be in his squad for this week's friendlies against Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

Five players – goalkeeper Hairul Syirhan, defender Jordan Vestering, and midfielders Fathullah Rahmat, Naqiuddin Eunos and Harhys Stewart – received their first call-ups to the national team.

Nishigaya has also brought back a number of regulars in Adam Swandi, Amy Recha, Hariss Harun, Shah Shahiran, Shakir Hamzah, and Shawal Anuar, all of whom had sat out the March international window earlier. Meanwhile, stalwarts Shahdan Sulaiman and the three Fandi siblings will not feature as they continue their rehabilitation from injuries.

The squad is set to link up on Monday for centralised training. Tickets to the two Singapore friendlies are on sale at the Football Association of Singapore website and Sistic.

Singapore squad - Goalkeepers: Hairul Syirhan, Hassan Sunny, Syazwan Buhari, Zharfan Rohaizad. Defenders: Amirul Adli, M Anumanthan, Irfan Najeeb, Glenn Kweh, Shakir Hamzah, Lionel Tan, Jordan Vestering. Midfielders: Adam Swandi, Fathullah Rahmat, Hami Syahin, Hariss Harun, Ho Wai Loon, Naqiuddin Eunos, Shah Shahiran, Harhys Stewart, Zulfahmi Arifin. Forwards: Amy Recha, Joel Chew, Faris Ramli, Daniel Goh, Hafiz Nor, Shawal Anuar.

Soh Rui Yong left out of Asian Games squad

National marathoner Soh Rui Yong has been left out of the Team Singapore athlete contingent for September's Asian Games in Hangzhou, after the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) released its list of athletes who are successful in their appeals for entry on Thursday (8 June).

SNOC told The Straits Times that Soh - who won the 10,000m silver in at last month's SEA Games and met the Asian Games qualifying mark in the same distance - that it found him to have "failed to honour commitments" which he had provided to the council, including on occasions following his participation at the Cambodia SEA Games.

It added that Soh - a two-time SEA Games marathon gold winner - continued to make "disparaging and derisive remarks about others in the public domain".

Other than Soh, a total of 477 athletes have earned the nod to represent Singapore in 32 sports at the Asian Games, which was postponed from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SNOC said that, following the postponement of the Games, 31 athletes have withdrawn from the contingent, with an additional 126 athletes being approved for participation.

Full physical event for Safra Bay Run/Army Half Marathon

The Safra Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon will return as a full physical event on 27 August for the first time since 2018.

There will be three physical categories. The half marathon and 10km race will flag off at the Merdeka Bridge with scenic routes that cover landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.

The Families for Life 800m Challenge will take place at the Singapore Sports Hub, where parents can pair up with their children in a dinosaur-theme run.

The virtual 21km Cumulative Challenge, which was held for the last two years, has been retained and will take place from 31 July to 26 August for participants who prefer clocking the distance at their own time. They can submit their distances via the 42Race app.

Registration is open till 10 July. Operationally ready national servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces will be able to enjoy discounted registration fees across all categories.

Lin Ye announces retirement after persistent injuries

Singaporean national paddler Lin Ye has decided to retire, due to persistent back injuries that have hindered her since she withdrew from the 2022 SEA Games.

Since becoming a citizen in 2013, the China-born table tennis player has represented Singapore at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and won the 2015 SEA Games women's doubles gold medal with Zhou Yihan. The duo also caused an upset at the 2015 Japan Open semi-finals, beating top Chinese doubles pair Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen.

The same year, Lin claimed the Under-21 singles title in the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals held in Lisbon, defeating Japan's Yui Hamamoto. Her last major triumph was winning the 2019 SEA Games women's singles gold, stunning compatriot Feng Tianwei in the final.

The Singapore Table Tennis Association thanked the 27-year-old for her services to the national team in a media release on Friday (9 June).

Bowlers Zach Ramin, Sin Li Jane win at Singapore Open

The Philippines' teenager bowler Zach Ramin emerged as a surprise winner of the 53rd Singapore Open, when he defeated top seed Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand in the step-ladder final at the Singapore Bowling@Rifle Range bowling lanes at Temasek Club on Saturday (10 June).

The Straits Times reported that the 17-year-old Singapore permanent resident, who is the captain of the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) bowling team, won 189-183 and 229-212 to clinch the winner's cheque of $25,000.

In the women's stepladder final, Malaysia Sin Li Jane clinched her fourth Singapore Open title, beating Singapore bowler Shirley Wong 227-193 and 195-178.

A total of 725 participants from 14 countries competed across all divisions in the tournament.

OCBC Cycle Virtual Ride ends with over 64,000km clocked

The fourth year of OCBC Cycle Virtual Ride ended on Monday (5 June), with 397 participants completing over 64,000 km. The conclusion of the virtual rides wraps up this year’s OCBC Cycle event.

This year saw the introduction of the longest virtual ride with The 500km Virtual Ride category. The new distance, similar to four “round-island rides”, aims to pose a challenge for cycling enthusiasts while complementing the returning 100km Virtual Ride.

Kevin Teoh, 53, found the virtual ride event to be a great motivation while training for his first long-distance Ironman triathlon, where participants are required to a 180.2km cycling route in a single go. He said, “The virtual ride gave me a target distance to work toward for each ride, so that I can build the endurance to take part in the Ironman triathlon.

"Completing a long-distance Ironman triathlon event has been a goal of mine since 2020, and while the early morning rides and preparation have not been easy, the virtual rides have made the mundane nature of my routine training more exciting."

Students participate in esports tournament by GAKU Games

About 120 students from six schools participated in an esports tournament as well as team-bonding activities, in an activation programme organised by GAKU Games at Victoria Junior College on 3 June.

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was the special guest speaker of the event, as he spoke on his extraordinary sporting journey to inspire the participants.

In front of the Olympic Esports Week trailer, the students participated in some ice-breaker games to improve their teamwork and communication skills. Later on, they engaged in a mini esports tournament with the game PuyoPuyo Champions by Sega. The students paired up in duos and competed against one another for a chance to watch Ronaldo up close in a padel court.

The students later received certificates of completion of the program at the closing ceremony and had a photo opportunity with Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Edwin Tong.

F1 Singapore GP to be more environmentally sustainable

This year's Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix is set to become more environmentally sustainable, with the installation of solar panels on the F1 Pit Building, as well as a more energy-efficient lighting system for the night race.

Singapore GP and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a media release on Friday (9 June) that the foundations were laid last year, with initiatives such as moving towards cleaner energy, going digital for greater resource efficiency, improving waste management and reducing single-use plastics.

The 1,396 solar panels on the F1 Pit Building are expected to generate solar energy sufficient to power the building for an entire race month. Any excess solar energy will be sold to the grid to offset the facility’s utility costs.

Work is underway to install a more energy-efficient track lighting system, with the metal-halide projectors to be replaced by LED track lights to illuminate the Marina Bay circuit. The upgraded track lights consume at least 30 per cent less electricity than the previous bulbs, and do not require any warm-up time to reach their full luminance.

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