Singapore to field record 72-strong contingent at World Aquatics Championships
There will be 30 athletes making their debut, Associate Professor Goh said during a press conference at the World Aquatics Championships Arena venue in Kallang.
'That alone speaks volumes about the depth of talent we have nurtured, and the boldness of our vision for the future,' he said.
He added that this has been made possible by years of investment in development pathways and infrastructure, and a belief in athletes and coaches alike.
At the 2023 edition in Fukuoka, 27 athletes represented Singapore across four disciplines.
The championships feature the six disciplines of swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving. This year, Singapore will not be competing in high diving.
The competition, to be held from Jul 11 to Aug 3, is a key highlight on the SG60 calendar as Singapore marks six decades of independence this year.
'We have established ourselves as a powerhouse in aquatics in the region, consistently competing against the best in Asia. But to become the best in the world, we must challenge ourselves against the very best, and we will not shy away from that,' said Assoc Prof Goh.
HOMEGROUND ADVANTAGE
Athletes said they were looking forward to competing in front of the home crowd.
Swimmer Gan Ching Hwee, who set two national records at the Paris Olympics in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle, said 'the homeground advantage is really something that I look forward to'.
She hopes that the upcoming championships can inspire future generations of aspiring athletes to believe in themselves and one day step up and represent Singapore as well, especially with the SEA Games returning to Singapore in 2029.
'On top of that, I think we have the advantage of being familiar with the environment, like the heat and humidity,' added Gan.
Fellow swimmer Mikkel Lee said that the sight of familiar faces in the crowd makes a big difference for him when competing.
He recalled the solitude of participating in a competition in the German capital of Berlin. 'I was on my own, essentially. I didn't have anybody. I was kind of losing my head a little bit,' he said.
Lee added that with the competition held in Singapore this time, it is also a different experience for him, as it is his turn to play host to his foreign counterparts.
'What's different is that usually I'm asking people that are hosting: 'What's good in your country? Where should I go?' And now people are asking me that question,' he said.
For Lee Kai Yang, captain of the men's water polo team, the support from a home crowd is something that is unmatched, as he recalled the feeling making his debut in Singapore during the 2015 SEA Games.
'Ever since then, every other major games that I've been to, the feeling from the crowd is never the same. And I do look forward to that again in this world championships here in Singapore,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
8 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Liverpool's Diogo Jota mourned by family and local people at hometown wake, World News
GONDOMAR, Portugal — Hundreds of residents of Gondomar in northern Portugal filed past the bodies of former Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva at a chapel in their hometown on Friday (July 4), after their deaths in a car crash in Spain. At an earlier private wake, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, FC Porto President Andre Villas-Boas, Portuguese Football Federation President Pedro Proenca and Jota's longtime agent Jorge Mendes joined the brothers' family including Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier. "It is a moment of great pain for the family, who are left anchored to this tragic accident," Proenca said as he left the wake. "Diogo was an icon for the talent that Portuguese football represents and for its ability to generate unity around a person." The brothers were believed to be driving to a ferry in Spain to travel to the UK when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst. Silva was also a footballer, with Penafiel in the Portuguese second division. Their funeral is expected to take place on Saturday at a nearby church at 10am local time (4pm Singapore time), the office of Gondomar's mayor said. The death of forward Jota at the age of 28 has jolted the world of football, with tributes pouring in from former teammates, clubs, national leaders and fans. "Diogo was a silent hero for everything he represented on and off the pitch," Villas-Boas said as he left the wake. "These are tragic days, days for reflection, and may the memory of these two athletes, these two great men, live on," the former Chelsea manager added. Outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium fans left flowers, scarves and handwritten notes, many from children. "I never thought there would be something that would frighten me off going back to Liverpool after the (summer) break," Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah said on Instagram. "Teammates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back," he added. Football clubs including Paris St Germain — who have several Portugal internationals in their squad — Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid observed a moment of silence during training for their matches at the Club World Cup in the United States. [[nid:719830]] Mourning his friend Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Thursday that forward Pedro Neto was weighing up whether to play in Friday's quarter-final against Palmeiras, as the Portuguese international mourned the tragic death of his close friend. Jota's manager at Liverpool, Arne Slot, said in a statement on Thursday that his thoughts were with his family. "My message to them is very clear — you will never walk alone," Slot said, using the words of the team's anthem. "For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player, he was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special," the Dutchman added. In Gondomar, a town of about 160,000 people in the Porto metropolitan area that is known for artisanal gold and filigree jewellery, residents were struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of a local hero. At the Diogo Jota Academy in Gondomar — whose motto is "It's not important where we come from, but where we are going" — people placed candles and flowers, as well as scarves and shirts from the clubs he played for and from the Portuguese national team in tribute to the player. Jota opened the academy in 2022 for children aged six to nine at the Gondomar Football Club where he himself played for 10 years as a child. It was at Gondomar's high school that he met his wife. They began dating aged 15 when in the same class and she became a pillar in his life. When they were 19, they moved to Madrid together, when Jota was transferred from the small Portuguese club Pacos de Ferreira to Atletico Madrid. "Besides being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan," Cardoso told the newspaper A Bola at the time. Jota was making his way back to Liverpool by car after he was told he should avoid plane travel for up to six weeks following lung surgery to address a fractured rib, his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves told broadcaster Now late on Thursday. Goncalves said Jota was recovering well from the pneumothorax surgery and that he had planned to take a ferry to the UK from Spain. ALSO READ: Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, 28, dies in car crash in Spain
Straits Times
20 hours ago
- Straits Times
Anisimova vows to hit practice courts after reaching last 16
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 4, 2025 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. in action during her third round match against Hungary's Dalma Galfi REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON - American Amanda Anisimova became the first American through to the last-16 of this year's Wimbledon with a 6-3 5-7 6-3 defeat of Hungary's Dalma Galfi on Friday. Not that the 13th seed was too impressed by her Independence Day display on a sunny Court Three. "It was an incredibly tough match but I kept fighting," the 23-year-old, one of five American women to reach the third round, said on court. "I think the quality wasn't that great today but I will hit the practice courts tomorrow." Anisimova, a quarter-finalist in 2022, secured the decisive break of serve in the first set with a stunning lob to lead 5-3. She had chances near the end of the second set too but was pegged back as 110th-ranked Galfi dug deep to break serve at 5-6 and set up a decider. Anisimova let out a big scream as she broke serve early in the third set with a wrong-footing forehand and an even louder one when she saved a break point when leading 3-2. Another break of serve put Anisimova in complete control but at 5-2 she double-faulted on break point down to give Galfi hope. But it did not prove costly for the American who sealed the win a game later to move through. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore PAP has begun search for new candidates; PM Wong hopes to deploy them earlier ahead of next GE Singapore $3b money laundering case: 9 financial institutions handed $27.45m in MAS penalties over breaches Singapore Banks tighten vigilance and processes following $3b money laundering case Singapore Seller's stamp duty hike surprises some amid moderating property market, but ultimately prudent Singapore Trilateral work group formed to address allegations of foreigners illegally taking on platform work Singapore Power distribution system may be linked to Bukit Panjang LRT disruption: SMRT Singapore Rise in number of scam e-mails claiming to be from Cardinal William Goh: Catholic Church Singapore Tourism bump from Lady Gaga concerts raked in up to estimated $150m for Singapore economy
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
Singapore Premier League's move to raise foreign player quota sparks concerns in football fraternity
SINGAPORE: A move to increase the number of foreign players in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) has led to concerns that it will hamper the development of local players. Observers told CNA that it may also benefit richer clubs more than others, potentially widening the gulf between them. 'Just imagine the message that you're sending out to all the local boys who want to play, want to be a professional footballer, for example,' said SPL match commentator A Shasi Kumar, a former pro footballer and head coach. 'Would you let your son or daughter play when, at the end of the day, you only have these number of (local) players? So yeah, that's a problem.' The move was part of a slew of changes to the country's professional football league that were announced on Wednesday (Jul 2) by the Football Association of Singapore. Clubs will be able to field up to seven foreigners per match, up from six. This marks the greatest number of foreign players allowed in the SPL since the league was launched in 1996. The total prize money will also more than double to S$600,000 (US$470,000), while a new reserve league – SPL2 – to develop young players will be introduced. The SPL will also become an eight-team competition after Brunei DPMM FC withdrew from the league in May. The changes, which will take effect in the new season beginning Aug 16, are aimed at boosting the competitiveness of the league. FEWER KEY POSITIONS FOR LOCAL PLAYERS Pundits told CNA that while the move may get local players fighting harder for their spot in the first team and get selected for the national squad, it will also lower their opportunities to get quality game time. Football consultant Richard Harcus said that while SPL's move is meant to make the league better, it means fewer Singaporean homegrown players will have key positions in their teams. 'Historically, when you look at football tactics across any country, when you have (foreign) players that are coming into a team, they tend to play in key positions,' noted the former head of international operations at Balestier Khalsa FC. 'So your star striker tends to be a foreigner; your star central defender tends to be a foreigner; your star midfielder tends to be a foreigner.' Harcus said his concern in the long term would be how it affects the national team. 'Players will have less opportunities to play in teams with more foreigners, and less opportunities to play in those key positions,' added the CEO of Harcus Consultancy Group. 'But time will tell. Maybe it's time for one of the great Singaporean players to step up.' Shasi said that young footballers in Singapore have already been 'falling by the wayside', given the large gap between the under-21 and the senior teams. He stressed that the messaging to players must be right but is now 'iffy', referring to youths coming up in the National Development Centre as well as national project Unleash the Roar. Aimed at raising standards of local football across all levels, the project also hopes to create a structured development system that can fuel the dreams of young players. 'Seven foreign players – I don't think I get that. I rather have it kept at four, maybe, then we go from there, and then you see more local players coming up, because I don't think the message is right at the moment,' Shasi added. Ex-pro footballer and SPL match commentator Rhysh Roshan Rai said it will be good for the league if clubs can bring in good foreign players, but a concern is a lack of game time for local players. 'It's not just about minutes played. What's important is also the quality of minutes played, in that sense,' he pointed out. MONEY TALKS Observers also said the move to include more foreign players will more likely benefit clubs that have greater financial might in signing better players. For example, reigning champions Lion City Sailors are bankrolled by Forrest Li, the billionaire founder of tech giant Sea. He was also elected as FAS' new president in April. Rai said Lion City Sailors and Tampines Rovers are clubs that could benefit from the new ruling in continental competitions. 'But, locally, in the SPL, it's going to be interesting to see how many of the other clubs out there are actually going to be able to afford quality foreign signings that will actually lift the overall standard of the league,' he added. Shasi said he believes privatisation is the only way that other SPL teams can catch up with the Lion City Sailors. 'This is nothing against Lion City Sailors. I think, fair play if they have the money. Go ahead. Go spend it, go win it, because that's how it is supposed to be, because it's a professional league. So be it,' he added. 'But I think other clubs are just playing catch-up.' Given his long-time involvement in the league, Shasi said he hopes to see more players 'push a little further' and break into their club's first team. 'They've only got four places – or three outfield places – to fight for in their own club, so I want to see these players coming up as someone who can play for Singapore,' he added.
