An eventful 2023 saw the Republic’s athletes compete in major competitions such as the SEA Games and Asian Games. The Straits Times’ Ervin Ang reviews some of Singapore’s highs and lows of the year.
1. Record-breaking Shanti Pereira
Starting the year strong, Pereira broke multiple national 100m and 200m records and even rose to the top of the World Athletics’ 100m outdoor rankings for Asian women in March. With expectations sky-high ahead of both the SEA Games and Asian Games, the 27-year-old did not disappoint.
In Cambodia, she became the first Singaporean woman to capture a sprint double at the SEA Games – setting a Games-record 22.69sec in the 200m final in May. Four months later, she clinched silver in the 100m at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, before ending Singapore’s 49-year wait for an Asiad athletics gold with victory in the 200m.
2. Maximilian Maeder’s consistency
Kitefoiler Maximilian capped off a dominant 2023 with six major titles – the World Cup Series, Formula Kite Youth World Championships, Formula Kite World Championships, Asian Games gold, KiteFoil World Series and Youth Sailing World Championships.
Although he is only 17, Maximilian is already touted as a future Olympic medallist. Having already qualified for the 2024 Paris Games, the world No. 6 could clinch Singapore’s sixth Olympic medal at the quadrennial event.
3. Humiliation in men’s football
The Lions began 2023 with an AFF Championship group-stage exit after a 4-1 loss to Causeway rivals Malaysia. The ignominy continued for Singapore at the SEA Games, when the Under-22 men’s team were thumped 7-0 by already-eliminated Malaysia. The Young Lions finished rock bottom of their group without a single victory, for the first time since 1987.
Led by Japanese coach Takayuki Nishigaya, the Republic’s senior team finished the year with defeats by South Korea and Thailand in the World Cup qualifiers. Languishing at world No. 156, the Lions have barely improved in 2023 and look a shell of their former selves as four-time AFF Championship winners.
4. First Singaporean woman footballer in Europe – Danelle Tan
While the men’s football team have regressed, Tan’s achievements have sparked hope for the women’s team. Taking a leap of faith to move to Europe in 2022, the 19-year-old eventually signed for English third-tier side London Bees in February and became the first Singaporean woman to play in a European league.
Earning a move to German side Borussia Dortmund thereafter, Tan hit the ground running with 12 goals in 14 games for the fifth-tier Landesliga side. Having already established herself as a key player for Dortmund, her fledgling career has only just begun and the sky is the limit.
5. Silat’s internal woes
Despite a strong showing at the Asian Games, with two gold medals, Singapore silat suffered a crushing blow in November. Singapore Silat Federation chief executive Sheik Alau’ddin was arrested for suspected criminal breach of trust.
As a result, the World Pencak Silat Championships and World Junior Pencak Silat Championships, orginally scheduled to be held from Dec 27-31 in Singapore, was cancelled due to “internal organisation challenges”.
6. Women’s tchoukball achieves world No. 1 ranking
On the first day of 2023, the Republic’s women’s tchoukball team officially became the world’s best team following their historic win over Chinese Taipei in the 2022 Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships final. It was a landmark achievement for a developing sport in Singapore.
But at the World Tchoukball Championships in August, while the women’s team finished fifth after a shock quarter-final elimination by Hong Kong, the men’s team managed to clinch a bronze medal.
7. The end of Singapore Slingers
With the Asean Basketball League (ABL) losing the support of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), the Singapore Slingers – the Republic’s only professional basketball team – announced in November they were unlikely to play on for the foreseeable future.
Founded in 2006, the Slingers never won the ABL tournament despite being instrumental in the league’s launch in 2009, but they served as a platform for local players to develop by playing against regional rivals.
8. First medals in para lawn bowls
For the first time in the Republic’s history, silver and bronze lawn bowls medals were won at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in October. Faridah Salleh, 66, who was diagnosed with polio, achieved silver in the women’s singles B6 event and Khirmern Mohamad, 53, a left-leg amputee, won bronze in the men’s singles B7 event.
Their achievements in para-sports highlight the important aspects of sports – resilience and inclusivity.
9. Turf club’s closure
June’s announcement of the Singapore Turf Club’s closure for residential development meant the end of over 180 years of horse racing in Singapore. While spectator numbers have been dwindling, an important part of local culture will be extinguished on Oct 5, 2024 when the last race is run at the Kranji racecourse.
10. Powerlifter Farhanna Farid’s perseverance
Hoisting 208kg of metal, Farhanna, 31, set yet another deadlift world record at December’s Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships. It was the eighth time she had rewritten the record in the past 18 months, despite struggling with a knee issue when she set her new mark.
To break a world record is no easy task. But to do it time and time again is a true measure of discipline, perseverance and grit that every Singaporean athlete aspires towards.
