SINGAPORE: Three new National Sports Associations – handball, wrestling and modern pentathlon – have been set up ahead of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to ensure that Singapore is represented in all 26 sports when it hosts the Games in 2010.

Handball is getting popular among Singaporeans, with enthusiasts forming an association in April this year. A 15-team league was, in fact, set up in 2005 and the teams have been competing at the National Institute of Education's outdoor handball court.

The challenge now is to organise a regional competition for the sport, in preparation for the Youth Olympics.

Mary Ang, president of Handball Federation of Singapore, said: "We need a suitable venue for training and the nature of this sport is indoor... They need to have an indoor venue to train properly."

Leading the modern pentathlon will be Channel NewsAsia's editor, Nicholas Fang. The sport involves five disciplines – running, swimming, shooting, fencing and horse riding.

And even though horse riding is not included at the YOG, excelling in the event is still a daunting task due to the short time frame.

"The key thing is to go after those who have a strong swimming and running base because these take the longest time to prepare. And once we find athletes who have already got those basic skills, we try to hot-house them for shooting and fencing," said Fang.

Wrestling, too, will have to select athletes from other sports.

"We are going to identify 12 to 15 year olds in the country who have a history in sports such as judo or jujutsu. We will take those athletes that already have experience in those sports and teach them wrestling," said Mike Denoma, president of the Wrestling Federation of Singapore.

The modern pentathlon and wrestling associations are confident of organising regional tournaments next year as a tune-up for the big Games.

All three sports will also be reaching out to schools in search of talent.


- CNA/so