A 'true performer' at SEA Games, Singapore should look to Asian, world stage: Top sports official

PHNOM PENH: Singapore has established itself as a "true performer" at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games level and now needs to set its sights on the Asian and world stage, said Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) chief Su Chun Wei on Tuesday (May 16).

"It is an ambition that we certainly have," Dr Su said at a press conference at the end of the 32nd SEA Games.

"The strength of our high performance system is based on a good plan and good process. My conviction is that ... Team Singapore believe that they can deliver and break through at (the) Asia and world level."

Team Singapore concluded their 18-day Games campaign with 51 gold, 43 silver and 64 bronze medals. Eight Games records were set, along with 17 national records and 40 personal best milestones.

On the overall medal table, Singapore finished in sixth place. Vietnam topped the ranking.

There were a number of strong Team Singapore showings, with sprint queen Shanti Pereira clocking the fastest time in Asia this year in the 200m (22.69s). Swimmer Jonathan Tan's 21.91s in the 50m freestyle was the second-fastest timing in Asia in 2023. He also met the Olympic "A" cut.

"My view is that we certainly have what it takes to break through at the Asian and world level. In fact, some of the sports have already broken through. It is now really (about) sustaining ourselves and the performance at those kinds of levels," Dr Su said.

"Fencing is a good example, they now believe that they can be a powerhouse in Southeast Asia, so the natural next question is the Asian (level), how do we want to go from there?"

Singapore's fencers clinched seven golds at this year's Games, surpassing their previous best of six golds recorded in Hanoi last year.

Team Singapore's SEA Games contingent had 259 debutants who contributed 57 out of 158 medals. 

The SEA Games Federation is aware that the Games is an important "stepping stone" for athletes on the pathway to other major meets, added Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) secretary-general Chris Chan.

He revealed that a revision to the Games charter has been accepted, ensuring there will be more Olympic and Asian Games sports in the programme in years to come.

The next three hosts for the Games - Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore - have also decided to come up with a common sports programme when they host the 2025, 2027 and 2029 Games, Mr Chan said.

"(For) the next six years at least, that will be the answer to what kind of sports you're going to have in the SEA Games," he told reporters.

Describing it as a "very positive development", Dr Su added that it will provide the ability to plan ahead for multiple cycles of Games.

A KEY MILESTONE

At this edition of the Games, Dr Su singled out sports such as swimming, water polo, fencing and sailing for praise.

The swimmers recorded their best overall medal tally at the Games with a total of 47 medals (22 gold, 15 silver and 10 bronze). The 22 golds were one more than they had at the last edition of the Games, and one shy of their best haul of 23 in 2015 and 2019. 

"I'm very happy to see that the men's water polo team has regained the gold, and the gold has come home," Dr Su added.

Athletics also has continued to go from "strength to strength", he continued.

The 30-strong athletics team ended their Cambodia campaign with three gold, two silver and five bronze medals. There was also one meet record, six national records, 13 personal best timings and 19 season best performances. 

At the same time, there have been sports which have underperformed, Dr Su noted, naming basketball, golf and men's football in particular.

"The ability to learn and get stronger and much better is something that we want all athletes and coaches and the sport to bring back and reorganise themselves and get started for the next campaign that we mount," said the SSI chief.

SSI, which falls under government agency SportSG, supports the development of high performance sport in Singapore, including coaching support.

Singapore also reached the 1,000th gold milestone in Phnom Penh, courtesy of the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team on May 6.

Dr Su noted that a quarter of the 1,000 golds have been won in the last five editions of the SEA Games.

"This roughly translates (to the fact that) if we keep the trajectory of these medal-winning performances, the amount of time for team Singapore to reach the next 1,000 gold medals will be halved, or in 17 editions, roughly 34 years," he pointed out.

"We believe and we are hopeful that our cohorts of athletes continue to desire to fly our flag very high and to do their best and compete and bring home the medals that we can be very proud of."

Dr Su added that the youthfulness of Singapore's contingent, which had an average age of about 24, was a "bright spark".

"We can really proudly say that our athletes put up a very, very good performance, very gutsy and very courageous, and they were outstanding in what they did," said Singapore's Games chef de mission Dr Hing Siong Chen.

"The athletes fought very, very hard and we're very, very proud of them."