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SINGAPORE: The Singapore table tennis team returned home from the SEA Games to a hero's welcome on Wednesday.
The athletes were greeted by a sea of orange at the Changi Airport on Wednesday as Young Team Singapore supporters turned up in full force to cheer for the players.
The table tennis team swept seven golds at the Games in Korat two years ago, but only managed to win six golds at this year's Games in Laos.
But Lee Bee Wah, the president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, said she is not bothered by the fewer golds won this year. She was full of praises for the younger members of the table tennis team.
She said: "....we have six golds, four silvers and two bronzes (won by the table tennis team) and I was told that this is the most number of medals we've ever got in ... SEA Games history. It is also the first time the men's singles was an all-Singapore affair."
Singapore's swimmers, too, returned home after their big, successful splash in Laos.
The team's 14-gold haul puts Singapore as the top swimming nation in Southeast Asia. The team also won eight silver and 10 bronze medals. It was the best-ever away performance by Singapore's swimmers.
Now the targets have been raised, as some of the top swimmers aim for the 2010 Asia Games. Quah Ting Wen, who collected five gold medals in Vientiane, said she is looking forward to next year. But the ban on polyurethane suits could pose a challenge.
Quah said: "The issue of the suits is going to be chaotic next year, with the new rule. But (I am) pretty sure most of the swimmers will be able to adapt quickly. I mean, all the good swimmers, they will be able to adapt real fast to the new rule and they will all do really well."
- CNA/ir
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