WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (1-7 August)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (1 to 7 August):

National tchoukball women's team win historic first title

Singapore’s national women’s tchoukball team won their first-ever Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships title, beating defending champions Taiwan 39-35 at the Educity Sports Complex in Johor Bahru on Sunday (7 August).

It is also Singapore's first-ever victory over the world powerhouses. They had earlier lost 35-50 to their opponents in the round-robin competition, but a change of tactics and a disciplined performance turned things around.

Captain Tan Irene said, “We surprised the Taiwanese by coming up with a different approach in the final. We knew they have good attackers so the plan was to start out strongly, not commit ourselves too easily, defend well, and make our shots count.”

The national men's team, however, could not win the gold as they lost to Taiwan 48-73 in the final.

Sailors extend lead atop SPL after 4-0 win over Balestier

Defending champions Lion City Sailors widened their lead to four points atop the Singapore Premier League (SPL) table, after a 4-0 win over Balestier Khalsa at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday (6 August).

Goals from Kim Shin-wook (fifth minute), Maxime Lestienne (70th), Saifullah Akbar (72nd) and Song Ui-young (77th) allowed the Sailors to bounce back from defeat by Albirex Niigata (Singapore) in their previous match.

Albirex lost ground in their bid to catch the sailors after a 3-3 draw with Hougang United at Hougang Stadium on Friday. Goals from Masahiro Sugita (12th), Tadanari Lee (77th) and Masaya Idetsu (89th) earned the draw for Albirex, while Hougang replied through Pedro Bortoluzo (62nd, 74th) and Shawal Anuar (85th).

On Sunday, bottom-placed Young Lions earned their second win of the season, stunning third-placed Tanjong Pagar United 4-2 at Jalan Besar Stadium, with Zikos Chua scoring all their goals (22nd, 30th, 45th, 52nd). Tanjong Pagar replied through Khairul Amri (36th) and Reo Nishiguchi (70th).

Seniors' Sports Day sees over 5,000 participants

The second edition of the Seniors’ Sports Day returned at the GetActive! Singapore sports festival on Wednesday (3 August), with over 5,000 seniors from 90 senior activity centres, active ageing centres, and nursing homes, joining in the National Day celebrations through sport.

Besides dancing to an adapted version of the "GetActive! Workout" together with the guest-of-honour, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, in-person participants also got to experience modified sports and a modified obstacle course for the first time.

The "Dragon Trail" modified senior obstacle course is curated for the seniors to experience various activities to assess their mobility, agility, balance, hand-eye coordination and muscular strength. At the same time, they can also learn tips and exercises to improve their fitness levels.

A virtual Seniors’ Sports Day, organised in partnership with Agency of Integrated Care, was also held on 28 and 29 July to engage more seniors in the community who were unable to join the physical event due to capacity limitations. Around 23,000 seniors participated via Zoom and engaged in activities such as dart throwing, bean bag toss and cup stacking.

Singapore Nurture Kids Festival at National Stadium

About 57,000 preschool children celebrated Singapore’s 57th birthday by playing kampung games at the GetActive! Singapore Nurture Kids Festival at the National Stadium on Friday (5 August). Over 1,000 preschool children and educators were on-site across four sessions throughout the day, while over 56,000 children across 500 preschools joined the festival virtually.

The games were part of the "57 Kampung Games" collection, which is an activity resource guide for preschoolers that includes old school games that have been modified to incorporate fundamental movement skills. The aim is to encourage more regular physical activity and social interaction through fun games among preschool children.

Some of the games played include a sporty version of traditional favourites like "Eagle Catches the Chicks" involving balancing beams and zig zag movement; "Hopscotch" involving words and pictures matching, balancing and throwing skills; and "Bola Tin" involving counting and mini-missions such as moving like a crab and imitating an aeroplane.

Ex-Masters champ to compete at International Series S'pore

Former US Masters champion Patrick Reed will be competing at the International Series Singapore golf tournament at Tanah Merah Country Club's Tampines Course from 11 to 14 August, before heading to the Lotte Skyhill Jeju Country Club for the International Series Korea the following weekend.

The American won the Masters - one of the four annual Major tournaments - in 2018 and is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour. His most recent victory came at last year’s Farmers Insurance Open. The 31-year-old has also competed in three Ryder Cups, with his success in the event earning him the nickname “Captain America”.

He will join a top field in Singapore, which includes American Sihwan Kim, who currently leads the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit following two victories this season. Korean Bio Kim and Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, both first-time winners this season, have entered for the tournament as well.

Puma named official apparel, footwear sponsor for SCSM

Organisers of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) announced on Thursday (4 August) that sportswear brand Puma will be the official apparel and footwear sponsor for this years event, which will be held from 2 to 4 December.

This marks the first time that SCSM is partnering Puma, with the apparel brand producing this year’s official SCSM running singlet, marathon 42.195km finisher T-Shirt and Kids Dash T-shirt among other event apparel.

Organisers IRONMAN group also revealed the medal design for this year's race categories, showcasing two of Singapore’s most famous icons: the Merlion and the Orchid.

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