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WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (27 Sept - 3 Oct)

Staff Writer
·Editorial team
·6-min read
Team Singapore during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
Team Singapore during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. (PHOTO: Reuters/Mike Blake)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (27 September to 3 October):

Edwin Tong to move Parliament motion to honour TeamSG athletes

Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, will be moving a motion at the upcoming Parliament sitting on Tuesday (5 October) to honour and celebrate Team Singapore athletes’ achievements at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The motion reads, "This House congratulates our Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians, in particular Ms Yip Pin Xiu, our five-time Paralympic Gold Medallist, for their achievements at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Tong will also speak on how the government’s investment in the High Performance System seeks to support and create opportunities for all Singaporeans who possess the talent and passion to participate in sports at the elite-level.

Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians, as well as key representatives and officials who have supported them at the Games, will be invited to the Parliament sitting.

Youthful Singapore teams at Asian Table Tennis Championships

A new-look, youthful Singapore national women's table tennis team retained their bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Doha on Thursday (30 September), after losing 0-3 to South Korea in the semi-finals.

Playing without veterans Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu, the team featured paddlers aged 25 and below such as Lin Ye, Wong Xin Ru, Zhou Jingyi and Goi Ruixuan as they sought to gain top-level match experience ahead of key events next year such as the SEA Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

Meanwhile, the men's team - consisting SEA Games gold medallist Koen Pang, Olympian Clarence Chew and Beh Kun Ting - were beaten 0-3 by Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals. They eventually finished joint-champions of the second tier of the tournament with Kazakhstan.

Singapore's WWE wrestler Dante Chen.
Singapore's WWE wrestler Dante Chen. (PHOTO: WWE)

Dante Chen scores 2nd straight victory in WWE

Dante Chen, the first Singaporean wrestler to be signed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), followed his debut appearance at the NXT show with his maiden appearance at the company's WWE 205 Live program on Friday (1 October).

The 25-year-old - whose real name is Sean Tan - faced American Malik Blade in the opening bout of the show, which features the cruiserweight division wrestlers in WWE. He eventually defeated Blade with a guillotine drop for his second straight victory of his WWE career.

Dante had beaten another American, Trey Baxter, in the 21 September episode of NXT, after signing a contract in July to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

18 elite runners in virtual half-marathon for Great Eastern Women's Run

This year's Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) will feature a competitive virtual half-marathon for 18 invited local elite runners, to be held in conjunction with the all-women’s virtual run for the public on 14 November.

Competitors of the virtual half-marathon are to clock in their race between 6am and 9am on the race day, and submit their results digitally after the race, where their run time, distance, route and heart rate will be verified.

This elite race will feature a strong field of runners, such as Jasmine Goh (2016 GEWR champion), Rachel See (2017 GEWR silver medallist), Serena Teoh (2019 SEA Games representative) and Neo Jie Shi (2018 GEWR bronze medalist).

To mark the return of GEWR after the cancellation of the race last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the local elite runners will also lead a fund-raising initiative where donated monies will go towards the two selected beneficiaries – Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) and Daughters Of Tomorrow (DOT). The public can support these causes via the Great Eastern Cares fundraising page.

Three NSA representatives elected at SNOC annual general meeting

Three national sports association (NSA) representatives were elected at the Singapore National Olympic Council's annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday (30 September).

Dr Hing Siong Chen (cycling), Dr Koh Koon Teck (basketball) and Dr Patrick Liew (gymnastics) will serve from 2021 to 2023.

Meanwhile, former national shooter Lee Wung Yew was also elected to serve a one-year term as treasurer.

The AGM, which was was held online due to COVID-19-related considerations, saw the attendance of 197 NSA delegates representing 41 ordinary members, eight associate members and six provisional members.

Action from the 2019 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Action from the 2019 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit. (PHOTO: Charles Coates/Getty Images)

Singtel secures broadcast rights for Formula One

Singtel has secured the broadcast rights for Formula One, ensuring Singtel TV customers can continue to catch the F1 races in Singapore following the closure of Fox Sports channels.

Singtel TV customers will be able to view all practice, qualifying and final races live on mio Sports 2 (CH 112), starting with the Turkish Grand Prix on 8 October, where a free preview will be available.

Customers who subscribe to the World Sports pack and all Value and Ultimate packs will continue to enjoy the F1 races on mio Sports 2 after the preview period.

Nearly 1,300 student-athletes honour at SSSC Colours Awards

A total of 1,298 student-athletes will be recognised for their sporting achievements and good character at the 51st Singapore Schools Sports Council (SSSC) Colours Awards.

Despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, close to 12,000 student-athletes have returned to courts and fields to train and compete in 11 non-contact sports in this year's National School Games.

In all, the Awards will be presented to:

  • 15 students from 12 schools, who will receive the SSSC Best Sportsboy Award and SSSC Best Sportsgirl Award;

  • 38 students from 21 schools, who will receive the SSSC Colours Award (Distinction);

  • 1,245 students from 78 schools, who will receive the SSSC Colours Award.

The awards will be presented to the recipients by their respective schools during school-based ceremonies, in view of prevailing safe management measures.

Sports Hub organises innovation challenge

Singapore Sports Hub is organising an innovation challenge for submissions of prototype solutions that utilise 5G network capabilities to deliver immersive audience and visitors to the venue.

The winning innovation will be awarded S$30,000 and will have the opportunity to commercialise their solutions at the National Stadium.

All submissions must be made by 4pm (Singapore time) on 29 October via the Open Innovation Platform by Infocomm Media Development Authority, and will be evaluated by solution fit, readiness for deployment, market advantage and profile of applicants. There are no geographical restrictions for participants, but the prototype must be demonstrated at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Meanwhile, the Sports Hub has also entered a strategic partnership with Global Sports Innovation Center, giving it to global sports technology and innovations resources.

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