SINGAPORE, June 17 — The remarkable performance of hosts Singapore’s 749-strong athlete contingent at the 28th SEA Games can be a springboard for more success at bigger major international meets such as the Asian and Olympic Games, say former athletes TODAY spoke to.
As the curtain came down on the biennial meet last night, Singapore finished second behind Thailand in the final medal standings, winning the most medals among the 11 participation countries — 259.
It left Singapore Athletics vice-president Canagasabai Kunalan struggling to explain Singapore’s impressive showing.
“We targeted 50 gold medals and now we have 84. That’s a big achievement. I don’t know how we managed to do it and I am still thinking about it,” said the 72-year-old former sprinter, a silver medallist in the 100m at the 1966 Asian Games.
“This has never happened before, we are always fifth, sixth or worse and this (second in tally) is something special. I am sure most of them (athletes) are already thinking of Asian Games.
“But thinking and dreaming alone is not enough, and they must assess how they stack up against the best in Asia, and what they must do to get close the gap.”
Former national shooter and Olympian Lee Wung Yew also added: “This time around, the way it was organised, the way they went through the preparation to win 84 gold medals is nothing short of amazing.
“It’s fantastic, the records and numbers of gold medals. The whole package is really beyond what we have been used to. The home ground and atmosphere helped the athletes to perform beyond their limits.”
Lee also stressed that Singapore’s national swim team, which topped the competition with 23 gold medals — including nine from Joseph Schooling — could be the ones to really make an impact on the international stage for Singapore.
He said: “Their performance has broken the glass ceiling. They are in a different class.”
But while Singapore now aim to become more competitive internationally, Singapore National Olympic Council vice-president Tan Eng Liang felt hosting bigger multi-sport meets such as the Asian Games would be beyond the Republic because of logistical and financial constraints.
Already, the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi has withdrawn as hosts of the 2018 Asian Games, citing high costs estimated at US$500 million (RM1.8 billion).
“First we will do an analysis and review on the directions that we are going,” said Dr Tan, who is Singapore’s co-Chef de Mission with former national fencer Nicholas Fang.
“The SEA Games is one step close in a series of major events that leads to Olympics. The SEA Games success hopefully will spur us on to do better in the Asian Games and Olympic, with some athletes qualifying for Rio.” ― Today
