WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (15-21 August)
SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (15 to 21 August):
Yeo Jia Min pulls out of world championships after contracting COVID-19
Singapore's top female shuttler Yeo Jia Min has been ruled out of this week's Badminton World Championships in Tokyo, after she contracted COVID-19 for a second time last week.
While the 23-year-old - who earned a bronze medal in the women's singles event at the recent Commonwealth Games - was back in training on Wednesday (17 August), her polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test still returned a positive result.
This meant the world No.18 would not be able to enter Japan, as the country requires a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours before departure.
Yeo, who had been due to play South Korean world No. 43 Sim Yu-jin in the first round, had also tested positive for COVID-19 in January.
Lion City Sailors thump Tanjong Pagar 7-0 to maintain lead
Defending champions Lion City Sailors maintained their three-point lead atop the Singapore Premier League (SPL), recording their second straight high-scoring victory with a 7-0 thumping of third-placed Tanjong Pagar United at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday (20 August).
Goals from Maxime Lestienne (10th minute), Hafiz Nor (45th), Gabriel Quak (53rd), Kim Shin-wook (58th) Diego Lopes (69th, 87th) and Song Ui-young (74th) gave the Sailors their third win on the trot, and followed their 10-1 rout of the Young Lions the week before.
Second-placed Albirex Niigata (Singapore) kept pace with a 4-2 win over Tampines Rovers at Jurong East Stadium on Friday. Kodai Tanaka (4th, 29th) and Ilhan Fandi (45th, 55th) scored for the hosts, while Tampines replied through Boris Kopitovic (11th) and Kyoga Nakamura (22nd).
Hougang United moved level on 28th points with fourth-placed Tampines with a 5-1 thrashing of the Young Lions at Hougang Stadium on Saturday, with goals from Shawal Anuar (22nd), Kristijan Krajcek (31st), Amy Recha (38th), Shahril Ishak (59th) and Farhan Zulkifli (92nd). Rasag Akeem (29th) scored for the bottom-placed Young Lions.
On Sunday, Geylang International beat Balestier Khalsa 3-0 at Our Tampines Hub with goals from Sime Zuzul (37th, 80th) and Ariffin Noor (92nd),
Meanwhile, Balestier announced on Thursday that they will part ways with head coach Akbar Nawas at the end of the month. The 46-year-old will be joining Thai second-tier side Udon Thani as technical director as well as assistant first-team coach.
Irfan, Ikhsan Fandi are 1st S'poreans to reach AFC Champions League q-finals
Brothers Irfan and Ikhsan Fandi have become the first Singaporean footballers to reach the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League quarter-finals, after their Thai club side BG Pathum United defeated Hong Kong's Kitchee 4-0 in the round-of-16 in Japan on Friday (19 August).
Forward Ikhsan also became the first Singaporean footballer to score in the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League, unleashing a long-range piledriver to score Pathum's second goal.
Pathun had finished top of their group in the opening stage, and were unbeaten against Australia's Melbourne City, South Korea's Jeonnam Dragons and Philippine side United City. Ikhsan netted thrice during the group stage.
A draw will be conducted at Saitama Stadium on Monday to see who they will meet in the last eight.
Lion City Sailors launch youth league in bid to raise standards
Singapore Premier League champions Lion City Sailors launched the Puma Youth Champions League (YCL) on Thursday (18 August), aiming to raise youth football standards in Singapore by providing a platform for the best teams to consistently test themselves against one another.
The tournament will run from next month to May 2023 and will feature teams across six age-group categories from Under-10 through to Under-16.
With six teams featuring in each age-group category, the YCL will see a total of 360 games split into two seasons – September to December and February to May – with a champion of each age-group category crowned at the end of every season.
The YCL is backed by leading global sports brand, PUMA, which has signed a two-year title sponsorship deal with the Sailors worth $280,000.
JSSL youth football tournament resumes in September after COVID hiatus
The JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s youth football tournament will resume after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to be held from 2 to 4 September across three locations: Our Tampines Hub, The Arena (Woodleigh) and The Cage at Turf City.
This year’s competition will be headlined by the Pros category, comprising six elite teams of players aged 16 and below: Tottenham Hotspur, Valencia, JSSL, Melbourne City, Bangkok United and Johor Darul Ta’zim. A total of 250 teams across 12 countries have signed up.
The 2022 edition features 11 categories for boys aged six to 16, and four for girls aged 10, 12, 14 and 16. Each team comprises seven players with each group stage match lasting 22 minutes and each knockout stage match lasting 25 minutes, all without half time.
SCF Cycle For Hope campaign raises over $222,000
More than 1,400 participants took part in Singapore Cycling Federation's (SCF) Cycle For Hope campaign, covering almost 70,000 kilometres with more than $222,000 raised for the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) and SCF’s Children Academy since it started on 9 July.
Of the funds raised through the campaign, 70 per cent will be channelled to the SCS while 30 per cent will go towards developing SCF’s Children Academy and developmental programmes including the construction of a much-awaited new BMX track.
Over the course of six weeks, corporate sponsors and donors also demonstrated their generous support for the fund-raising campaign, contributing over $94,000.
The Cycling Challenge Event culminated in a cycling road criterium and a kids’ race on Sunday (21 August) at the Singapore Sports Hub. Guest-of-honour Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, participated in an exhibition ride with SCF president Dr Hing Siong Chen.
Record 135 teams took part in Deloitte Pesta Sukan netball festival
A record 135 teams across six different categories, with over 1,650 participants, took part in the Deloitte Pesta Sukan netball festival on 6 and 13 August, as the event made its return after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of $6,400 in cash prizes were given away to the open categories – mixed open, women’s open, women’s U23 and corporate mixed open, while participating teams in the Schools B and C Divisions were also awarded medals.
This year’s edition again featured a charity exhibition match, with Deloitte donating $500 for every goal scored during this match. The teams were captained by Team Singapore players Kimberly Lim and Tan Xin Yi, both of whom are Deloitte employees. The match also saw former national goalkeeper Lionel Lewis, CNA news presenter/senior producer Steve Lai, and host/presenter Kelly Latimer try their hand at the game.
With 24 goals scored in the charity match, together with donations from the Deloitte Pesta Sukan participants, a total of $15,000 was raised for Children’s Wishing Well, which served over 1,000 disadvantaged children each year by supporting their educational and daily living needs.
Registration for 'Let's Ride! Singapore' extended to 9 Sept
Registration of the virtual cycling event "Let's Ride! Singapore" - which is being held from 14 August to 10 September - has been extended until 9 September.
With its theme of "Go the Distance: Be Healthy, Stay Safe", the event aims to get people to take charge of their health with regular physical activity to promote health and wellness, and at the same time, highlight road safety and etiquette.
The virtual event will be based on mileage and participants can ride anytime and anywhere in three different categories – road bikes, foldable bikes, and mountain/hybrid bikes.
A charity ride will be organised, with 300 cyclists will aim to cover over a total of 20,000km collectively to raise funds for NCIS Cancer Fund. Organiser MiRXES will be donating $1 for every kilometre clocked during the charity ride, in addition to a base amount of $50,000, and this will be presented via a cheque at the closing ceremony on 18 September.
Theresa Goh is 1st Paralympian to be in SNOC athletes' commission
Former Singapore Paralympian Theresa Goh has become the first para-athlete to be elected as a member of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) athletes' commission from 2022 to 2026.
"I believe my expertise and experience as a former athlete for over 20 years participating in high performance para sport will provide an encompassing view and benefit Singapore sport," Goh said in a media release.
"I aim to fill the gap in providing the opinions and views of para athletes to bring new synergy to how athletes with and without disabilities can work together in Singapore sport, to build our force for good, and deliver shared successes in sport."
Goh had competed in four Summer Paralympics from 2008 to 2016, winning a bronze medal in the women's 100m breaststroke (SB4) race in Rio de Janeiro in her final Games. She had also won 33 medals - 30 of them golds - over nine Asean Para Games editions, and held world records for both the 50m and 200m breaststroke (SB4) events.
The 10 elected members of the SNOC athletes' commission are: Constance Lien (jiu-jitsu), Dipna Lim-Prasad (athletics), Jonathan Chan (diving), Kampton Kam (athletics), Martina Veloso (shooting), Muhamad Ridhwan (boxing), Shayna Ng (bowling), Stephenie Chen (canoe), Terry Tay (gymnastics), Theresa Goh (para-swimming).
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