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Swimmers Tao Li and Joseph Schooling hit by food poisoning

By Satish Cheney

Singapore's swim team may have bagged four gold medals on Saturday but not many would have known that their star swimmers like Tao Li and Joseph Schooling were competing while suffering from food poisoning, allegedly from the Games village in Palembang.

Sources say there's been more than 30 food poisoning cases there among Singapore athletes alone.

The swimmers affected were prescribed medication by Singapore Sports Council doctors.

Singapore officials are now stocking up on food from a nearby hypermart for the swimmers.

Team manager Aloysius Yeo told Yahoo! Singapore that food from a hypermart can be equally nutritious, depending on what type of food is selected.

He added that the strong team spirit ensured the good performances on Saturday.

"It's a matter of mind over body. The medication helped also. They are all ready and raring to go for Sunday's finals," said Yeo.

Two of Singapore’s star rifle shooters were also hit by food poisoning ahead of their events on Saturday.

Shooter Jasmine Ser visited the toilet eight times ahead of her 50m three-position event, said team manager Jeanine Heng.

Ser’s teammate Aqilah Sudhir was also stricken with similar problems.

When asked if the food poisoning was to blame for their poorer-than-expected showing (Ser and Aqilah placed fifth and sixth out of eight shooters in the event finals), Heng said neither of them would blame their performances on their condition.

“But, I imagine having diarrhoea while shooting should not be the most exciting of circumstances,” added Heng.

Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, Heng also noted that the Malaysian shooters, were also suffering from diarrhoea.

She suspects that uncooked vegetables served in the dining hall may be responsible.

The athletes and officials affected have all recovered after receiving medication.

This latest fiasco at the 26th SEA Games follows reports of suspected food poisoning among footballers staying at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta last week.

Additional reporting by Jeanette Tan in Jakarta