WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (6-12 Feb)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (5 to 12 February):

Amanda Tan qualifies for HSBC Women's World C'ship for fifth time

Singapore golfer Amanda Tan will be competing at the HSBC Women’s World Championship from 2 to 5 March at Sentosa Golf Club, after she won the local qualifying competition on Thursday (9 February).

This will be the fifth time Tan has qualified for the prestigious tournament - a record for a local golfer. She first played in the prestigious tournament as an amateur in 2014, and has since qualified for the 2017, 2019 and 2021 editions.

The 23-year-old finished with a two-round score of 148 (73 and 75), five strokes ahead of her closest competitor, local amateur Jaymie Ng.

"Overall, I think I would want to work on my irons – get them more consistent to prepare for the HSBC Women’s World Championship. I’m happy with my chipping and putting so I hope that stays,” she said.

Defending champions confirm return to WTT S'pore Smash

WTT Singapore Smash champions Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong of China will return to defend their singles crowns at the 2023 tournament from 7 to 19 March at the OCBC Arena.

In addition to the defending champions, Singapore Smash 2023 will also feature a slew of leading Chinese and Japanese players. including women’s world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, as well as fan favourites Hina Hayata and Mima Ito. Germany’s Han Ying, Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz and Austria's Sofia Polconova are also set to grace the women's singles tournament.

In the men’s event, world No. 2 Ma Long, last year’s singles finalist, will aim to go one better this year while also fending off challenges from the likes of Wang Chuqin, Tomokazu Harimoto and Hugo Calderano.

Singapore will be represented in the women’s singles event by Zeng Jian, and wildcards Zhou Jingyi and Wong Xin Ru. The Singaporeans in the men’s singles are Clarence Chew and Koen Pang.

During competition week, Singapore Smash will set up table tennis tables at 15 venues throughout Singapore, with the public welcome to try their hand at playing table tennis in places such as Downtown East with NTUC Club, SAFRA Tampines, ActiveSG Sengkang Sport Centre, as well as People’s Association centres at Radin Mas, Macpherson and Kampong Glam.

Singapore Smash tickets to the qualifying rounds start at $18 while ticket prices for main draw start from $28.

Ex-national athletes set up crowdfunding campaign for S'pore tchoukball

Former national athletes Ronald Susilo (badminton) and Lenny Lim (bowling) have started a crowdfunding campaign to raise $150,000 for the Tchoukball Association of Singapore, following news of the national women's team rising up to No.1 in the world last month.

As the sport's association is mainly self-funded, the amount raised from the campaign would help the men’s and women’s teams compete at the world championships in Prague in August, as well as the youth teams as they take part in the Asia-Pacific Youth Beach Tchoukball Championships in Taiwan in the same month.

It would also help Singapore in its operating expenses in hosting the World Youth Tchoukball Championships and South-east Asia Tchoukball Championships in July.

FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup tickets on sale

The FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup will take place at the Singapore Sports Hub OCBC Square from 29 March to 2 April. Last year’s edition was held at the picturesque Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza.

The winners of the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup will qualify for one of the FIBA 3x3 Olympic qualifying tournaments in 2024, which will bring them closer in reaching the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This year, fans can look forward to the region’s top men’s and women’s 3x3 basketball teams battling it out against the backdrop of upbeat music with energising side performances. Tickets start from $5 and limited day passes will be available for purchase.

Meanwhile, the ActiveSG Cup 3x3 basketball tournament for youth players aged 14 to 19 will also be held on 18, 19, 25 and 26 March at Toa Payoh Sports Hall, with the semi-finals and final to be held together with the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup event. A total of 168 boys and girls teams will be competing.

Danelle Tan breaks new ground on European league

Singapore national women's footballer Danelle Tan made her competitive debut with English club London Bees in an FA Women's National League South match against Plymouth Argyle on Sunday (5 February).

This makes the 18-year-old the first Singaporean women's footballer to feature in an official European women's league match. Tan came on as a substitute after half-time, and was involved in the Bees' goal in their 1-2 defeat.

According to The Straits Times, Tan moved to London last year to study at Mill Hill School for her A-Levels this year. She secured a playing contract with the London Bees after going for their trials, and will play for them until May.

Tan was also the first Singaporean to be accepted into a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 football programme, one of the top football programmes in the United States. She will join the College of William and Mary in 2024 under a part-athletics scholarship and will play for their Division 1 team.

Lydia Ko confirms participation at Aramco Team Series

World No.1 women's golfer Lydia Ko has confirmed her participation in the Singapore leg of the Ladies European Tour's Aramco Team Series, which will take place from 16 to 18 March at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

It will be the New Zealander's first apperance at an Aramco Team Series event, and the 25-year-old said she is excited to tee it up in such a unique and innovative format.

“From the outside it seems like a really fun week to be a part of, with both the team and individual elements to play for, and the set up both on and off the golf course being outstanding," she said in a media release on Wednesday (8 February).

The Aramco Team Series is set to have five events in different countries this year, and each event will have US$1 million prize funds, split equally between the individual winner and team winners. Ticket information will be available soon.

Singapore to host Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific c'ship

The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship returns to Singapore, with 10 of the top-50 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) confirmed for its fifth edition at Singapore Island Country Club from 9 to 12 March.

This is the second time Singapore has hosted the championship, after the city-state hosted the inaugural edition in 2018, won by Thailand’s world No.4 Atthaya Thitikul.

Among the players who have confirmed their participation are two past champions – Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto, who won the 2021 championship in Abu Dhabi, and defending champion Huang Ting-hsuan of Taiwan.

Rin Yoshida is the highest-ranked player in the field at No.4 in the WAGR, and she leads a strong Japanese contingent that includes Yuna Araki, Sayaka Teraoka and Hashimoto.

Host nation Singapore will field the largest team of eight players, including Aloysa Margiela Atienza, Jaymie Ng and Inez Ng.

'Fitness Speed Dating' event on Valentine's Day

Fitness company AIBI International is holding a special Valentine’s Day event "Fitness Speed Dating" at its Maxwell Road outlet on Tuesday (14 February).

Open to singles between 18 to 34 years old, the event is an opportunity for fitness enthusiasts to meet new people over a 45-minute HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout session. There will be an equal ratio of male to females and during the session, and participants will get to do cupid exercises with different partners.

Following the session, every participant will get to select which member of the opposite sex that they would like to go out on a date with. If two participants of the opposite sex happen to choose each other, they will win a romantic dinner date.

"Fitness Speed Dating" is limited to 10 couples and will cost $28 per participant.

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