Fencer Kiria Tikanah, kayaker Brandon Ooi are Singapore’s flag bearers for Asian Games

SINGAPORE – When Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman made her Asian Games debut in 2018, she was just 18 and among the youngest fencers in the team.

Now 26 and making her third appearance at the quadrennial event, the two-time Olympian is now the most senior among the 20-strong fencing squad competing at the Sept 19-Oct 4 Asian Games.

The veteran epee fencer has since taken on a leading role, offering guidance and advice to her teammates.

At the Aichi-Nagoya Games, she will have an added responsibility after she was unveiled as one of Singapore’s flag bearers alongside kayaker Brandon Ooi.

“It feels like it’s coming full circle, especially being flag bearer,” said Kiria on the sidelines of the Team Singapore flag presentation ceremony held at OCBC Square on Aug 29.

“It doesn’t get any easier for any major Games, be it SEA Games, Asian Games or the Olympics, and it’s going to be all out from here on until the competition. But, as a fencer, I’ve matured and got a lot of confidence, especially from the previous two competitions.”

In Japan, the Republic will be represented by 304 athletes across 27 sports.

Sprint queen Shanti Pereira and sailor Ryan Lo, who both won gold medals in the women’s 200m and ILCA 7 class, respectively, at the last edition in Hangzhou, are returning to defend their titles.

Leading the Singapore contingent at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium will be “very special” for Kiria, who usually does not get the chance to attend opening ceremonies at major Games because her competition typically begins the morning after.

Kiria believes a podium spot is within reach this time, after chalking up positive results at the last two Asian Fencing Championships – she won an individual bronze in 2025 and a team bronze in 2026.

Singapore has two medals in fencing at the Asian Games – Lim Wei Wen bagged the men’s individual epee bronze in 2014, before the Republic snagged the women’s team foil bronze four years later.

Kiria said: “It was very encouraging because it’s going to be the same pool of fencers so we know what to expect.

“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword but it gives us a lot of confidence knowing that we’ve done it before, so it’s about getting the focus and keeping up the confidence.”

At the 2023 Asiad, Singapore won 16 medals – three golds, six silvers and seven bronzes.

Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder won the nation’s third gold in Hangzhou, but he will not compete this time after his event was excluded from the programme.

When asked about the expectations for the team, chef de mission Goh Kee Nguan declined to set specific medal targets.

The 66-year-old said: “Our athletes have been working very hard, they’ve been competing in different platforms and they want to go there and perform well for Singapore.

“In terms of medals, we are not going to Nagoya to count medals especially before the Games begin, but we are there to make sure that the athletes compete, and we will compete all we can to win as much as we can.”

With the Games coinciding with Japan’s typhoon season, Goh, who will be supported by assistant chefs de mission Aleksandar Duric and Fariza Zabir, stressed that the safety and well-being of athletes and officials are the top priority.

He added: “We have contingency plans in place to respond to emergencies, including severe weather, and will closely monitor weather advisories throughout the Games.

“We are also working closely with the organisers and relevant stakeholders to ensure that appropriate measures and timely support are in place should the need arise.”

At the flag presentation ceremony on Aug 29, badminton player Zack Ng and table tennis player Loy Ming Ying were also announced as the flag bearers for the Oct 31-Nov 13 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

They are among 13 athletes across nine sports who will compete at the YOG, which will be held in Dakar, Senegal.

Overseeing the contingent is chef de mission Silas Abdul Razak, a former national hockey player who was a torch bearer at the inaugural YOG in Singapore in 2010.

The youth event returns for the first time since 2018, after the previous edition slated to take place in Dakar in 2022 was postponed due to the operational and financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zack, who has claimed three medals in international competitions in 2026, is eager to make his YOG debut.

The Republic Polytechnic student, 17, said: “I feel both nervous and happy and proud at the same time because being able to go to the YOG is a big opportunity.

“It’s very rare and I also get to learn from this new experience and experience the atmosphere there.”

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, who is president of the Singapore National Olympic Council, and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo presented the Singapore flag to the chefs de mission for the respective Games. Both ministers were guests of honour.

National women’s softball team captain Cacia Tan, who will be competing at the Asian Games, led the contingent in reciting the athletes’ pledge.

In celebration of the Olympic spirit and values, more than 2,000 participants, including Neo, took part in the Olympic Day Walk 2026, completing a 3.7km walk around The Kallang.

In her speech, Fu said: “To all our athletes and officials, today you receive more than a flag. You receive the trust and support of a nation.

“Carry Singapore with pride, embrace the experience, support one another, and give your very best. Performance matters, but so do the memories you create, the challenges you overcome, and the example you set for those who follow.

“Whatever the outcome, know that an entire nation stands behind you.”