The Singapore Swimming Affiliation (SSA) president Mark Chay new 12 months’s message to their members confirmed their goal for 2023, to construct upon the breakthroughs and success of earlier years as they put together for 3 main occasions; the Cambodia SEA Video games in Could, the World Championships in Fukuoka in July, adopted by the Hangzhou Asian Video games, scheduled for September.
In 2022, Singapore gained 21 golds, 11 silvers and 12 bronze on the SEA Video games in Hanoi. Swimmer Teong Tzen Wei introduced dwelling the silver medal on the Commonwealth Video games and a historic fourth-place end on the World Championships (25m). Teong equalled his Asian file of twenty-two.01 seconds however misplaced out on a podium end by 0.03sec to Hungary’s world record-holder Szebasztian Szabo who took bronze.
“When our group took over the reins on the Singapore Swimming Affiliation, our objective was to ensure aquatics maintains its place as the highest sport in Singapore. And I’m glad to see that aquatics is certainly not solely the highest medal producer at main video games, however is among the uncommon sports activities in Singapore that may actually compete for a medal on the world stage,” stated SSA president Chay.
“We’re in a privileged place. We’re among the many few sports activities to have the ability to galvanise the nation and I really consider our sport could be a unifying drive for good.”
Whereas water polo was not featured within the 2022 SEA Video games, Singapore hosted the inaugural Water Polo Inter Nations Cup, and each the lads’s and ladies’s groups cemented their dominance as the highest sides within the area.
The boys’s competitors was performed in a round-robin format, and the Singapore group gained all 5 matches; Singapore 11-6 Thailand, Singapore 31-4 Malaysia, Singapore 11-2 Singapore B, Singapore 12-3 Philippine, Singapore 16-2 Indonesia.
Within the ladies’s competitors, Singapore A defeated Thailand 9-4 to be topped champions, whereas Singapore B went down 9-3 to Malaysia within the bronze medal match.
The SSA president additionally highlighted achievements by different aquatics athletes, corresponding to Max Lee, who made historical past by ending fourth on the World Junior Diving Championships and was the one Asian within the 12-diver closing in Montreal, Canada.
Chay, who was elected unopposed because the affiliation’s president in July 2022, stated that the swimming affiliation needs to transcend simply high-performance athletes, and this 12 months they hope to launch extra learn-to-swim initiatives with companions and associates to achieve out to the plenty.
“We is not going to solely be imparting life expertise, however hopefully, additionally assist extra individuals fall in love with the game and turn into lifelong followers,” defined Chay, who can also be a Nominated Member of Parliament.
“We may also proceed our initiatives to present again to the group, by way of initiatives such because the SAFRA Swim for Hope by which our athletes do their bit to boost funds for numerous beneficiaries, together with the SSA.”
SSA will take part in a number of fundraising initiatives this 12 months – beginning with the Water Polo Group Fund Elevating occasion on January 7-8 at Our Tampines Hub. The objective is to boost $50,000 for water polo initiatives, and the SSA president urges the fraternity to help these occasions as a lot as doable.
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