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WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (20-26 Dec)

Badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew (second from left) and fellow national shuttler Yeo Jia Min (second from right) deliver food hampers to beneficiaries for Boys' Brigade Share-a-Gift 2021 event. (PHOTO: Boys' Brigade)
Badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew (second from left) and fellow national shuttler Yeo Jia Min (second from right) deliver food hampers to beneficiaries for Boys' Brigade Share-a-Gift 2021 event. (PHOTO: Boys' Brigade)

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (20 to 26 December):

Shuttlers show support for Boys' Brigade Share-a-Gift

Two days after returning to Singapore following his World Championships triumph, national shuttler Loh Kean Yew - together with women's shuttler Yeo Jia Min - delivered food hampers to beneficiaries on Thursday (23 December) to show support for the annual Boys' Brigade Share-a-Gift (BBSG) donation drive.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my experience volunteering today with BBSG; being able to interact with the beneficiaries and to bring a smile to those in need was truly heartwarming," Loh said in a media release by Boys' Brigade.

"I’m grateful for all the public support throughout the duration of the World Championships in Spain, and I felt that this was a great opportunity to give a little back to Singapore. I would also encourage members of the public to donate and to try volunteering for BBSG 2021 as I’ve found that every little act of kindness can go great lengths to support someone in need.”

Launched on 20 November, this year's BBSG sought to fulfil the wishes of 44,167 beneficiaries, the highest number on record in the project’s history. It is making a final appeal for donations and for more public volunteers to register for delivery slots in order to achieve its target.

Members of the public who wish to donate may do so via the following digital platforms until 31 December: BB PayNow QR Codes that are available at 150 NTUC FairPrice stores, NTUC FairPrice On, BBSG Campaigns on the Boys’ Brigade page on Giving.sg, and at AXS Stations. In addition to digital donations, the public may order food hampers via FairPrice On.

The public can also register for door-to-door delivery of food vouchers which will end on 29 December. There will be five sessions each day with a limit of 10 cars per session.

New golf tournament before SMBC Singapore Open

The Asian Tour announced on Monday (20 December) they will stage a new event, The Singapore International, to be held on the week before the season-ending SMBC Singapore Open.

The US$1 million (S$1.36 million) tournament will be played at Tanah Merah Country Club from 13 to 16 January, and with the Asian Tour Order of Merit title and final placings on the Merit list at stake, top Asian golfers will be competing in the event.

The golfers include Merit list leader Wade Ormsby of Australia, Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Phachara Khongwatmai, Malaysia's Gavin Green, India's Shubhankar Sharma, and South Korea's Kim Joo-hyung. Top Singapore golfers such as Gregory Foo, Abdul Hadi, Koh Dengshan, Jesse Yap and Choo Tze Huang will also be participating in the tournament.

An extra incentive for these competitors is that the top 30 golfers from the final Merit list will be exempt for February's US$5million Saudi International, which is the 2022 season opener.

Gary Tan named new national swimming head coach

The Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) announced on Thursday (23 December) that National Training Centre (NTC) head coach Gary Tan has been appointed as the national swimming head coach, taking over Stephan Widmer with immediate effect.

Tan, 39, was a former national swimmer before being appointed as NTC head coach in 2016. He was a integral part of the coaching staff of Singapore’s national swimmers as they won 19 golds at the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia and 23 golds in the 2019 edition in the Philippines.

He was also on the coaching team when the swimmers achieved their best Asian Games results in 2018, returning from Indonesia with two golds, one silver and three bronzes. He also won the Coach of the Year at the Singapore Sports Awards 2018.

“We believe that Gary is the best fit among all the candidates to influence the NTC and affiliate clubs, to mentor local coaches, to continue to bring forth world class expertise through his connections with leading experts in the world, to adapt and relate to the local swimming ecosystem of athletes, coaches, and clubs, and have a strong burning desire to make Singapore a world class aquatic nation," said SSA president Lee Kok Choy.

Singapore indoor skydivers Kyra and Vera Poh (centre) clinch gold in the 2-way dynamic speed category at the Open Belgium Championships in Charleroi. (PHOTO: iFly Singapore)
Singapore indoor skydivers Kyra and Vera Poh (centre) clinch gold in the 2-way dynamic speed category at the Open Belgium Championships in Charleroi. (PHOTO: iFly Singapore)

Indoor skydivers earn four golds in Belgium

Singapore indoor skydivers bagged four gold medals at the Open Belgian Championships Indoor Skydiving 2021 held in Charleroi on 11 and 12 December.

Facing competition for 23 teams worldwide, each of the four indoor skydivers - Kyra Poh, Vera Poh and Kai Minejima Lee - managed to bring home at least a gold in their first competition after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Former world champion Kyra, 19, came out tops in the artistic solo freestyle competition against five other contestants. She then teamed up with younger sister Vera to win gold in the 2-way dynamic speed category against 14 other teams.

Kai, 12, clinched gold in the artistic solo freestyle junior competition. He then teamed up with Kyra, Vera and Czech Republic's Tobias Chaloupka to earn another gold medal in the 4-way dynamic speed competition.

Over 190 participants at BAS Skills Challenge

Over 190 participants took part in the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS) Skills Challenge competition at the Singapore Basketball Centre on Sunday (19 December).

Teams of two players vied to complete stations that tested their various basketball skills. Following the preliminary rounds on 11 and 12 December, the top eight teams qualified for the finals, which was graced by Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

The team category was won by national men's basketball squad member Reuben Amado and his Speedy Boyz teammate Chan Qi Feng. Team Filo's Lopez Aaron Absalon topped the individual category, while Siglap Black's Amanda Lim was the top performing women's basketballer.

The other winners were Team Filo's Artificio Miguel Joaquin Legaspi (male Under-14), Qian Xi 4's Shannon Lau Xuan Wen (female U-14), Team GT's Tian Zhiyi (male U-16) and Team KA's Alicia Lim (female U-16).

Women's strawweight main event at ONE: Heavy Hitters

ONE Championship announced the full card for the ONE: Heavy Hitters mixed martial arts event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 14 January, which will feature reigning ONE women's strawweight champion Xiong Jingnan defending her title against fourth-ranked contender Ayaka Miura.

In the co-main event, reigning ONE light-heavyweight kickboxing champion Roman Kryklia will also defend his crown against top contender Murat Aygun.

Also on the main card is a bantamweight muay thai showdown between top-ranked Saemapetch Fairtex and fellow Thai Tawanchai Saenchai, as well as the debut of Khabib Nurmagomedov protege Saygid Izagakhmaev, who takes on James Nakashima in a lightweight mixed martial arts contest.

In the lead card, Singapore's Tiffany Teo will be return to competition after over a year, as she battles China's Meng Bo in a strawweight bout.

National women's water polo team hold youth selection trials

The Singapore women’s water polo team will be holding youth team selection trials on 9 January. Those interested can register via this link.

Participants should be between 14 to 19 years old, although older ones can be considered on a case-by-case basis. They must be able to commit to six training sessions a week, and must be registered and training with a water polo club or school team.

For queries, please contact Yiwen (team manager) at 96560485.

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