WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (31 Jul-6 Aug)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (31 July to 6 August):

Singapore to send largest contingent to Asian Games

Team Singapore is set to send a total of 431 athletes across 32 sports to the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou – the largest contingent ever for Singapore at the Asiad.

However, three-time gold medallist Joseph Schooling was excluded from the list. Singapore Aquatics told The Straits Times that two other swimmers had clocked faster times than Schooling during the extended qualification window.

Fencer Amita Berthier and wushu athlete Jowen Lim were unveiled as the flag bearers for the Games during the flag presentation ceremony at the Singapore Sports Hub on Saturday (5 August), with Berthier doubling up as the pledge taker.

During the ceremony, telco company Singtel also announced the renewal of its partnership with the Singapore National Olympic Council with the sponsorship of $1.7 million in cash and kind support of Team Singapore athletes over the next five years.

The Hangzhou Asian Games was originally scheduled to take place in 2022 but was postponed to this year due to the COVID pandemic. It will be held from 23 September to 8 October.

33 para-athletes selected for Asian Para Games

The Singapore National Paralympic Council has selected 33 para-athletes to represent Singapore at the upcoming Asian Para Games (APG) from 22 to 28 October in Hangzhou.

Team Singapore will take part in nine sports: archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, lawn bowls, powerlifting, shooting, swimming and table tennis.

Of the 33 selected athletes, 17 will make their APG debut. The youngest athlete on the contingent is 17-year-old boccia player Aloysius Gan, while the oldest is 76-year-old para-lawn bowler Mahendran Pasupathy, both of whom are debutants.

At the last APG, Team Singapore athletes won three golds, two silvers and five bronzes in Jakarta in 2018.

Shanti Pereira beat European champion at Berlin meet

Sprinter Shanti Pereira continued her stellar year, winning gold in the women's 200m race at the Mittsommernacht Athletics meet in Berlin on Sunday (30 July), beating current European 100m champion Gina Luckenkemper en route to gold.

The 26-year-old, who won the women's 100m and 200m golds at both the SEA Games and the Asian Athletics Championships this year, clocked 23.32sec to pip Luckenkemper by 0.09sec.

Pereira will head to Malmo and Copenhagen for athletics meets this week, before taking part in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this month, as well as the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Singapore retain men's bronze at World Tchoukball C'ships

Singapore's men's tchoukball national team beat Switzerland 67-57 to retain the bronze medal at the World Tchoukball Championships in Prague on Saturday (5 August)

Ranked third in the world, they had beaten Thailand 67-39 in the quarter-finals, but narrowly lost 55-56 to world No.2 Italy in the semi-finals on Friday.

Singapore's women's national team narrowly lost 38-39 to Hong Kong in the quarter-finals of the World Tchoukball Championships in Prague on Friday (5 August), and were unable to at least replicate their bronze-medal showing in the previous edition in 2019.

Although Singapore came into the event as the top-ranked women's team, they suffered a major setback when captain Irene Tan partially-ruptured a calf muscle in their opener against Argentina, and was ruled out of the tournament.

They eventually clinched fifth place, after beating Malaysia (61-43) and then Argentina (68-24) in the playoffs.

FAS revamps grassroots football system in Singapore

Grassroots football in Singapore is set to take on a more prominent role in terms of identifying and developing youth talent. Their efforts will be officially recognised by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and where applicable, will also be entitled to compensation.

The FAS Academy Accreditation System (AAS) will not only allow consumers to identify FAS-recognised academies, but it will also enable the FAS to implement a comprehensive database of youth players to track their progression. The players will be included in the FAS talent identification, with potential opportunities to join National Development Centres or train with national age-group teams.

Academies accredited under the AAS will have access to a training compensation system in 2024. This will help to ensure fairness in the player transfer system by recognising the efforts and investments made by domestic football clubs and academies for developing young talents.

FAS will also be launching the Singapore Youth League next year, to provide a competitive platform for young players to showcase their talent and gain valuable match experience. It has also established the FAS Volunteers Programme, which aims to train and manage volunteers who play a crucial role in various aspects of football operations, from coaching to match organisation and event management.

Great 115 fitness test to challenge women participants

Great Eastern is celebrating the indomitable spirit of women with Great 115, the ultimate fitness test for ladies, on Sunday (13 August) at the Singapore Sports Hub's OCBC Square.

Participants can challenge their physical and endurance limits across five sports stations: tyre lift, shuttle run, box jump, battle rope and plank.

The top three participants will receive special prizes, and all Great 115 participants will receive a goodie bag which includes a $30 Decathlon gift card to support their active lifestyle.

Interested individuals who are not Great Eastern Women’s Run participants can register here to participate in Great 115.

ActiveX launched to promote active ageing

Sport Singapore launched the ActiveX, a new initiative that promotes active ageing as part of the Ministry of Health's Refreshed Action Plan for Successful Ageing, at the third edition of the Seniors’ Sports Day on Thursday (3 August).

A total of 1,700 participants, comprising of seniors, children and youths, participated in reimagined kampung games, including Bola Tin Soccer, Bola Tin Toss, Bullseye Chapteh, Giant Erasers and Rumah Dayak 2.0, and sport tryouts such as TTX.

Through ActiveX, SportSG hopes to connect seniors and youths to participate in sport-related activities regularly to nurture bonds, which will in turn create a self-sustaining support network.

Another 3,000 seniors also joined the virtual National Day celebrations, organised to engage seniors at nursing homes and active ageing centres who were unable to join the physical event due to capacity limitations or mobility concerns.

Majulah Fiesta at Sports Hub to celebrate National Day

Singapore Sports Hub will welcome its first National Day with the community since the Singapore government’s takeover in December 2022 with a Majulah Fiesta party on Wednesday (9 August). The event caps off 12 days of sports, games and competitions as part of the annual GetActive! Singapore. .

The highlights of Majulah Fiesta finale are:

• Majulah Fiesta fitness party: Take your workout experience to the next level with two exciting sessions: a cardio-infused dance workout with a Singapore twist, and the Great Singapore Workout.

• National Day Parade live screening, fireworks and National Stadium roof display: Pack a picnic at OCBC Square or Stadium Roar for the live NDP telecast. The national flag will be displayed on the National Stadium roof from 7.30pm to 10pm, and Sports Hub will set off its own fireworks.

• Old-school carnival games: Get involved in a world of classic carnival games and interactive family fun. Enjoy fringe activities such as balloon sculpting, face painting, upcycling paper crafts and personalised caricatures.

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