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Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Congratulations pour in as Soh Rui Yong gets nod to represent Singapore at 2025 SEA Games
SINGAPORE: After runner Soh Rui Yong excitedly announced on Tuesday (June 24) that Singapore Athletics had nominated him to represent the city-state at the 2025 SEA Games for the 10,000m and marathon events, many were quick to congratulate him. The 33rd Southeast Asian Games will be held in Thailand this year from Dec 9 to 20, in Bangkok and the provinces of Chonburi and Songkhla. 'The final selection decision will be made by the Singapore National Olympic Council, expected to be by the first week of September. I will then make a final decision on the events I will race thereafter. 'Thank you to Singapore Athletics for your support,' Soh wrote in a Facebook post, adding a screenshot of the email Singapore Athletics had sent him. Facebook Screenshot Singapore Athletics is the longstanding governing body for track and field in the city-state. Its purpose is to develop and promote Singapore's talents for track and field and other related events, such as cross-country, marathon, and race walking. The last time the SEA Games were held — in May 2023 in Cambodia — Singapore Athletics chose not to send any athletes for the marathon event. Soh had chosen to focus on shorter races in preparation for the competition and had suffered from a back and hip injury from July 2022 to January 2023, which prevented him from competing in a marathon during the qualifying window. Read related: Soh Rui Yong back with Team Singapore but not competing in marathon event at SEA Games However, Soh bagged the silver medal in the 10,000m final, setting a new national record of 31:10.70. But it was Soh's behaviour during the race that caught the public's attention. Indonesian runner Rikki Marthin Luther Simbolon, who eventually won the race with a time of 31:08.85, did not grab a bottle properly at the final water station of the race, but dropped it, not bothering to break his stride. Soh, who was on his heels, successfully reached for a cup and poured some water over his head. But seconds later, he passed the cup to Simbolon, who was then able to take a drink. 'Sporting, absolutely sporting,' the commentator can be heard praising Soh in the clip below. 'You cannot make that up. You cannot fake it either.' Many have congratulated Soh on this new development. 'Jiayou. Help Singapore get some medals!!! Do what you do best!' wrote one supporter. 'Congratulations. Proven results and no (one) can deny you the right to be selected and deny our country the best chance of bringing home a medal. Sincere congratulations. Do us proud,' chimed in another. 'All the best to your final call-up. Hope SNOC decided on you. We need a SEA games marathon gold medal again!' a third wished him. /TISG Read also: Soh Rui Yong bags silver in SEA games 10,000m final; wins more praise for sportsmanship after sharing water with Indonesian who took the gold
Straits Times
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore's artistic swimmers gear up for home World C'ships with bronze in World Cup series
Team Singapore's Kiera Lee (from left), Debbie Soh, and Yvette Chong took home third place in the Duets for World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 series PHOTO: SINGAPORE AQUATICS SINGAPORE – In their final international outing ahead of the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Republic's artistic swimmers earned a confidence-boosting overall bronze medal at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi'an, China. Debbie Soh, 27, Yvette Chong, 17, and Kiera Lee, 16, won the bronze in the duet category of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Series, which also came with a US$10,000 (S$12,800) prize money. Soh and Lee scored 183.6818 during their duet free routine at the Super Final in China on June 14, which placed them eighth out of 11 pairs in China. Chinese twins Lin Yanjun and Yanhan won the gold medal with 266.1442 points to finish ahead of duets from Spain and Japan. But Spain took the overall gold and US$15,000, while Kazakhstan bagged a silver as well as US$12,000 in the duet category of the World Cup Series. Chong said: 'It is a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Aquatics Championships. It reassures us that we're on the right track and gives us momentum for a strong showing as the host country.' For Soh, it is a milestone in a long campaign. 'It felt like our season began in December 2024, right after the exam period. Since then, we've been training six days a week, for about five to 10 hours a day, and have gone through multiple intensive training camps. It's been a challenging and hectic few months, but we stayed focused and motivated to rise above the challenges we faced along the way,' said Soh. The youngest of the trio, Kiera added: 'We feel very fulfilled that our efforts were rewarded. It wasn't in our expectations at all. We were more focused on hitting personal bests at every stop of the World Cup series, so we were taken aback by the final world ranking.' Final rankings are calculated based on the score from the Super Final and the top two scores from the rest of the series. To be ranked in the world series, teams must participate in at least two out of its three legs, plus the Super Final. The first three legs were in Paris, France (Feb 28-March 2), Somabay, Egypt (April 11-13) and Markham, Canada (May 1-3) before the June 13-15 Super Final in Xi'an. The artistic swimming national team's performance director Anastasia Goutseva said that the bronze was an 'incredible recognition for the athletes and the hard work they have put in throughout the year'. She added: 'The third-place overall ranking came as a bit of a surprise, but it shows that you have to dream big. It is a historic result for Singapore, and we are very happy that the team's effort has paid off.' Goutseva said that the duet (technical) score in Paris, the duet (free) in Egypt and their performances in the Super Final in Xi'an earned them the bronze. In Egypt, Chong and Soh had combined for 184.8755 points in the duet free to place 14th out of 23 and in Paris they scored 238.3992 to finish sixth out of 21 in the duet technical. Meanwhile, on the final day of competition on June 15, Rachel Thean scored 195.3688 to finish eighth out of 10 competitors in the women solo free while Singapore finished eighth out of nine teams in the team acrobatic event with a score of 144.2251. On the artistic swimmers' performance in the series, Goutseva said: 'Overall, we are very satisfied. There has been clear improvement from one world series to the next. After each competition, we make the necessary changes and modifications to our routines based on feedback from the judges and technical controllers. 'We had set specific goals for this year, and we can definitely see the progress here in Xi'an.' Ranked second only to the Olympics in prestige for water sports, the July 11-Aug 3 world championships will see over 2,500 athletes from more than 190 countries compete in six aquatic disciplines – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – across various venues in Singapore. As they make their final preparations ahead of the home showcase, Goutseva said: 'Singapore is committed to raising the level of artistic swimming, and while there is still a lot of work to be done, we are positive and motivated. Our focus is to push the team as far as we can and help them achieve their fullest potential on home soil.' Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Independent Singapore
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Mikayla Yang from Team Singapore finished fifth in the hoop final at the 2025 Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships
Team Singapore's Mikayla Yang successfully placed fifth in the hoop final at the 16th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships. This result has been the best yet achieved by a Singaporean gymnast at the tournament. Moreover, the 17-year-old athlete also placed sixth in the ball category and seventh in the ribbon event. With her impressive wins, Yang expressed: 'It was really special to compete on home ground. This was my first time taking part in such a major international competition in Singapore, and having my friends, family, and supporters in the crowd made the experience unforgettable. Hearing them cheer for me lifted my spirits and reminded me of how much support I have behind me. I'm happy with how I performed across the championships. I definitely felt an improvement from my last competition. While there were still some small mistakes, I managed to push through and stay focused. It was also my first time qualifying for three apparatus finals, so I'm proud I was able to perform most of them cleanly, soak in the moment, and represent Singapore with pride.' Uzbekistan's Takhmina Ikromova, the Asian Games gold medallist, won first place in both the hoop and club events. Furthermore, Anastasiya Sarantseva, Ikromova's teammate, won gold in the ball, while Aibota Yertaikyzy of Kazakhstan won the ribbon category. Yang placed sixth overall in the All-Around category, with a score of 76.500 across her top three routines. The Singaporean followed behind Ikromova (84.500), Sarantseva (83.850), and Yertaikyzy (82.200). Other tournament updates Team Singapore's Leia Yap and Lydia Lim placed 10th and 11th in the All-Around competition at the Junior Asian Championships. More so, Yap also finished fifth in the ribbon final. Due to the great results from the Singaporean team, the CEO of Singapore Gymnastics, Richard Gordon, admitted: 'This has been a fantastic event for Singapore Gymnastics and for Singapore as a whole. It's only the second time we have hosted a gymnastics competition of this stature, and the first time we have done so for rhythmic gymnastics. The feedback has been very positive, about the event itself, about Singapore, and about Singapore Gymnastics. It reflects not just our standing as a top sporting nation, but also Singapore's growing reputation as a destination for major sporting events. We have also seen encouraging results. Mikayla has really stepped up, and this is the first time we have achieved performances at this level. But it's not just Mikayla, our juniors have made finals too, and that shows we have a strong pipeline coming through.' In the hoop event, Uzbekistan's Viktoriya Nikiforova won first place, with China's Wang Qi and Kyrgyzstan's Sofia Iarovaia finishing second and third. Kazakhstan's Akmaral Yerekesheva showed dominance by winning gold in the ball final and went on to win two more golds in clubs and ribbons. In the overall All-around standings, Wang Qi led the rankings with a score of 98.450, followed by Yerekesheva and Kuwait's Layan Behbehani. Kazakhstan won the senior group title with a final score of 48.450. South Korea came in second with 48.250, and Uzbekistan earned bronze with 48.200. See also 2026 Tour de France to begin with a team time trial in Barcelona In the Junior group All-Around competition, Uzbekistan won gold, scoring 45.300. Kazakhstan won silver with 42.050, while Malaysia won bronze with a score of 40.600.
Independent Singapore
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Singapore's Mikayla Yang finishes sixth in the All-Around Competition at the 2025 Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships
Mikayla Yang of Team Singapore gave a steady and focused performance at the 16th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships held at the OCBC Arena, and finished sixth overall in the Individual All-Around event. The 17-year-old athlete scored a total of 76.500 points, making her the top-ranked gymnast from Southeast Asia. Yang placed ahead of Jasmine Althea Ramilo from the Philippines, who placed ninth, and Ng Joe Ee of Malaysia, who was 10th. Yang said: 'I'm pleased with how the competition has gone overall. I've seen clear improvement since my last outing, and I'm especially proud of my ribbon routine today. It felt clean, and I hit all my difficulties. Recovering from a small mistake in clubs to finish strong meant a lot. There's still work to be done in hoop and clubs, but for now, the focus is on sharpening my routines and giving my best in the finals. Competing at home, with the crowd behind me, has been an incredible experience.' Thea Chew, also from Team Singapore, finished 15th overall in the Individual All-Around competition. Despite her strong performance, she missed qualifying for the ribbon final round by only 0.150 points. Chew admitted, 'I focused on executing my routines and staying present in the moment, and hearing the home crowd cheer during my ribbon performance was incredibly uplifting. While I wasn't fully satisfied with my performances in ball and clubs, the overall experience has been valuable. I'll take the feedback and learnings with me as I continue to grow and improve.' Team Singapore's Thea Chew in action during the clubs event at the 2025 Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championship (Photo Credit: Singapore Gymnastics/Abdul Rahman) Top athletes from the roster The reigning Asian Games champion, Uzbekistan's Takhmina Ikromova, was first with a total of 84.500 points. Anastasiya Sarantseva, Ikromova's teammate, came in second with 83.850 points. Kazakhstan's Aibota Yertaikyzy was third place with 82.200. Every gymnast was graded based on their best three scores out of the four events—hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. Other tournament updates Team Singapore's Leah Yap and Lydia Lim finished 10th and 11th respectively at the 21st Junior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships All-Around competition. Yap placed eighth in the ribbon event, and Lim came in ninth in the clubs qualification round. See also Singapore's golf rising star Aloysa Atienza's quest to turn pro The 2025 Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships was participated by over 150 top athletes from 20 different federations. This tournament was officially approved by the International Gymnastics Federation (FOG) and co-hosted by the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU) and Singapore Gymnastics. Moreover, this competition will serve as the qualifier for the 41st FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships that will happen in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 20 to 24, 2025.
CNA
16-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Singapore's rhythmic gymnasts gear up for Asian championships on home soil
More than 150 gymnasts are twirling their ribbons and hoops at the OCBC Arena until Sunday, as Singapore hosts the annual Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships. The Asian championships will serve as a qualifier for this year's world championships in Rio de Janeiro. Chloe Teo checks out Team Singapore's preparations.
