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Team Singapore Synchronised Swimmers Makes History With SEA Games Gold

The Republic’s national synchronised swimming team created history today (June 3) when their technical and free routine won Singapore its first-ever SEA Games gold medal in the sport.

The Singapore team finished with a total of 150.8455 points — 76.5000 for the free routine and 74.3445 for the technical routine. The Malaysians, who won all the gold medals the previous two times the sport was included in the Games (2001 and 2011), finished second with 146.5204. Indonesia finished third with 138.1796. The gold medal is Singapore’s first after winning three silvers and one bronze during the sport’s 2001 and 2011 editions.

Captain Stephanie Chen was visibly elated after leading her team to victory, and expressed her appreciation for the fan support.

“I can’t say this (medal) was expected,” she said. “But we managed to hit our target and bring home some gold. I think Singaporeans can expect more gold from synchro because this sport is fairly new in Singapore and we were the few pioneer batches and we are already garnering the next generation for Singapore.”

On hand to congratulate the team’s achievement was Culture, Community and Youth Minister Lawrence Wong, who commended the girls and other Singaporean athletes for giving the host nation a strong start at the Games.

“We are proud of the girls. I would say that I am also proud of all the Team Singapore athletes so far who have had a strong start to the Games campaign, and the official opening hasn’t even started,” said Mr Wong.

“I would also say that I am very impressed with the turnout of the fans because at all the competition venues that I have been to (table tennis, football, netball), I see the fans cheering for Team Singapore athletes. That’s what the home ground advantage is all about and I hope that we see this continuing.”

National coach Maryna Tsimashenka felt the team had a good performance, though she has identified areas that need improvement.

“There was a mistake during the performance but the start was very, very good. Maybe the sync was not good. Tomorrow we will try again,” she said.

Two more finals for the synchronised swimming — one for the duet technical and free routine and another for the team free combination — will take place today.

Malaysia is currently in the lead with 75.3436 points with Singapore closely behind at 73.9705 for the duet technical and free routine category.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 4, 2015
3rd Gold Medal For Singapore Table-Tennis

Unleashing a guttural roar with each winning point, Yang Zi glared at his opponents from across the competition table, as if daring the Thai pair of Padasak Tanaviriyavechakul and Suthasini Sawetthabut to beat him and his partner Yu Mengyu to the SEA Games mixed doubles gold.

The game of intimidation appeared to work for the Singaporean paddlers today (June 3), as the Thais’ earlier bravado – they had upset top seeded Singaporeans Li Hu and Zhou Yihan 4-3 in the semi-finals – deserted them in the final, leaving Yang and Yu to claim victory in straight sets (4-0) and win the Republic’s third gold medal at the SEA Games.

Yu and women’s doubles partner Feng Tianwei had lost the gold to teammates Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan yesterday, and the 25-year-old was delighted to pick up her first title here.

“Today my partner played very well and his spirit inspired me,” she said. “I didn’t think before this that it would be this relaxed. My teammates lost to them so Yang Zi and I made sure we did sufficient preparation for this.”

While local fans had expected an all-Singaporean final in the mixed doubles, they were left disappointed today as top seeds Li and Zhou – who won the men’s and women’s doubles gold medal respectively yesterday – were eliminated in the semis. Despite charging ahead to a 3-1 lead, the Singaporeans found the Thais’ fiery attacking game too hot to handle, losing the match 4-3 to Tanviriyavechakul and Sawettabut.

A five-time gold medallist in the mixed doubles, Yang has not lost his grip on his crown since the 2005 SEA Games, and he was not about to let the Thais usurp his throne. Fired up from the get-go, Yang’s deadly smashes proved too much for Tanviriyavechakul and Sawettabut to handle, as the Singapore pair first claimed the lead 1-0, before making it 2-0. As the score went to 3-0, it was clear that the Thais were in trouble. Yang and Yu then powered past their opponents to claim victory in the fourth game 11-6.

Yang insisted that there was no secret to his success, as he added: “There’s no secret, just hard training. We played them at the recent world champs…it was very close but we won. This time we prepared very well and played well. Semi-finalists Vietnam and Thailand are the strongest opponent in South-east Asia and we prepared very well by watching videos everyday.”

While it was mission accomplished for Team Singapore’s 10-member table tennis team with a third gold in the bag, there was frustration and disappointment for local-born player Isabelle Li.

The 20-year-old, who won two silver medals in the women’s singles at the 2011 and 2013 SEA Games, suffered a 3-2 loss to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Nga in the women’s singles group stage. Only the top ranked player in each of the four groups will advance to the semi-finals, and the loss could see defending silver medallist Li eliminated from the singles. Li will only advance to the top four if she beats Laos’ Seangdavieng Douangpanya in her final group match tomorrow, and Nguyen loses to Myanmar’s Khin Kaung San.

Li was close to tears after today’s match, as she said: “I think my chances of getting into the main draw has ended here. I wasn’t feeling physically good today and made a lot of mistakes. I played her at the SEA Championships last November (Li won 3-0) and she was a lot fiercer today. I wasn’t able to bring my form on court today and that gave her confidence.”

Li’s potential exit will leave world No 4 Feng Tianwei with the responsibility of winning the singles gold for Singapore. With Team Singapore’s 749-strong contingent aiming to win more than 50 gold medals in the first home Games since 1993, expectations are high for the paddlers to win all seven medals on offer at the indoor stadium.

“Getting the third gold is not less of a burden, but more of a burden,” said Singapore Table Tennis Association president Ellen Lee. “I’m very disappointed (with Li’s loss) and there is a lot of expectation heaped on Isabelle. But it is a growing up process, and the good thing is that she is still young and this is a good experience for the younger players.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 4, 2015
Milestone Win For Fencer Wang

She may have won Singapore’s first fencing gold medal at the SEA Games yesterday, but Wang Wenying is in no mood to party just yet.

Wang, 35, became the first Singaporean athlete in 26 years to win the top individual fencing honour at the Games when she beat the Philippine’s Justine Gail Tinio in the final of the women’s foil event at the OCBC Arena.

Having participated in two previous Games — she won gold and silver in the team foil events at the 2007 and 2011 editions, respectively — Wang’s experience was crucial in the final as she raced to a 3-0 lead in the first period against her 19-year-old opponent, and it was a lead she never relinquished. Wang, cheered on by the raucous home crowd, powered through to a comfortable 15-7 victory.

But instead of taking the time to savour her milestone victory, Wang was already looking ahead to winning gold at her next event — the team foil on Saturday (June 6).

“I don’t have any plans to celebrate my victory just yet,” said Wang. “For now, I just want to focus on the team match because that will be another tough challenge for us. But we are all well prepared and I trust my team-mates, so I think we can win gold for that. But, of course, to win the individual gold means a lot to me still, especially as this will probably be my last SEA Games. I think being able to train full-time, coupled with my experience from the previous Games, made a difference in the end.”

Fencing Singapore (FS) had further cause for celebration as they took home another two silver and one bronze medal yesterday.

Singapore’s top male fencer Lim Wei Wen came close to winning the Republic’s first men’s fencing gold, but ultimately fell short in the epee final as he was beaten 15-8 by tournament top seed Nguyen Tien Nhat of Vietnam. Samson Lee, who lost to Nguyen in the semi-finals, clinched joint-bronze with Thailand’s Chamcharern Panthawit.

“I’m very happy to win the silver, although of course I would have loved to win the gold,” said Lim. “Nguyen surprised me with a switch in his tactics which caught me off guard. But I promise to come back stronger from this loss in the team event.”

Singapore’s Choy Yu Yong also had to settle for a silver, as he fell 15-11 to another Vietnamese, Thanh An Vu, in the Men’s Sabre competition.

Singapore’s four-medal haul on the first day of the fencing competition already surpasses their previous tally at the 2011 Games, when they won only one silver and two bronze.

The fencing competition continues today with the men’s individual foil, women’s individual epee and women’s individual sabre.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 4, 2015
33 Year Old Man Found Dead At Swissotel The Stamford

A 33-year-old man was found dead on Wednesday (Jun 3) at Swissotel The Stamford, just days after an Australian woman died in a fall at the same hotel.

SCDF was requested for ambulance assistance at 1.10pm, and the man was pronounced dead at scene by paramedics.

Police also said they received a call for help at 1.10pm at 2, Stamford Road, and found a man lying motionless at the said location.

“Police are investigating the unnatural death,” a spokesperson added.

An eyewitness, who was about 50 metres away when the body fell to the ground, told Channel NewsAsia that the body landed between the hotel’s main entrance and the Raffles City Shopping Centre McDonald’s entrance.

“I think it must have been from very high up because the sound was very loud. People from the hotel were also looking down, while those around were stunned,” the eyewitness, who requested to remain anonymous, said.

Manager for Marketing Communications at Swissotel Denice Lim also told Channel NewsAsia: “As it has just happened very recently, we are currently working with the police. The safety of our guests is paramount to us as well.”

Another hotel executive, Marketing Communications Director Vivian Tung, said: “It is certain that the balconies are on review after these events. It’s in the process of being implemented and reviewed. Every balcony has a lock. Based on guest requests, we have unlocked and locked balcony doors but the balconies remain an operational thing.”

Five days earlier on May 30, an Australian woman in her 50s was found dead at the parapet of the second floor of the same hotel. Channel NewsAsia understands that she fell from the 60th floor of the building. No foul play is suspected, the earlier report said.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 3, 2015
Beri Sokongan Kepada Wear White!

Gereja-gereja di Singapura akan pakai putih atau Wear White pada 13 Jun 2015 ini sebagai simbol tidak setuju mereka terhadap acara perhimpunan tahunan yang mempromosikan gayahidup kaum Sodom di Singapura.

Mereka sebulat suara akan memakai putih pada tarikh tersebut, sepertimana yang mereka lakukan pada tahun lepas secara besar-besaran. Inilah cara mereka menyuarakan keperihatinan mereka terhadap gejala negatif dengan cara aman, iaitu dengan hanya memakai putih.

Wear White ini sebenarnya bermula dari Wearwhite yang dipelopori masyarakat Islam tahun lepas apabila acara tahunan kaum Sodom itu bertembung dengan malam 1 Ramadhan. Tahun lepas, Wearwhite ini hanya menggalakkan Muslim untuk memakai pakaian putih pada malam 1 Ramadhan sebagai kesucian untuk Kembali Kepada Fitrah dan tidak menyokong acara yang mempromosikan gayahidup kaum Sodom. Golongan Kristian memberi sokongan kuat lagi padu dengan mereka memakai pakaian serba putih pada hari Sabtu (petang 1 Ramadhan) dan Ahad (1 Ramadhan) apabila mereka ke gereja masing-masing.

Golongan Kristian tahun ini meneruskan Wearwhite tahun ini dengan mengenakan pakaian serba putih pada hari acara mempromosikan gayahidup kaum Sodom dijalankan sebagai cara mereka menyuarakan keperihatinan mereka secara aman. Dan mereka pun sudah persiapan awal untuk menggalakkan anggota setiap gereja untuk Wearwhite pada hari tersebut.

Source: Mohd Khair

June 3, 2015