Celebrate SG56 Through Sports

“Pesta Sukan” is a Malay phrase for Festival of Sports, but the festivity was put on hold as majority of the events were cancelled or postponed due to the ongoing pandemic. Some events, such as Taekwondo, took to an online format so participants can continue to compete, while other events were only resumed after a calibrated easing of Safe Management Measures was announced. In the spirit of celebrating Singapore’s 56th birthday through sports, Sports School student-athletes took part in 3 sports – Badminton, Table Tennis and Taekwondo, and returned with impressive results.

At the badminton court at Heartbeat@Bedok, our shuttlers stood out from the crowd as they emerged victorious in multiple events, claiming a total of 10 medals – 4 gold, 1 silver, 7 bronze from the competitions held from 21 to 29 August. Chia Xin Ying took the championship title of the U15 Girls’ Singles event, and in the U17 category, Chua Min Han, Megan Lee Xinyi, and Nge Joo Jin / Wong Kai Ji Mark swept the championship title of the Boys’ and Girls’ Singles, as well as Boys’ Doubles event respectively.

At the other end of Singapore at Jurong East Sports Centre where some Table Tennis action was happening over the weekend of 28 to 29 August, our paddlers put up a strong showing at the U15 Boys and Girls event, and U19 Girls event. Nicholas Tan won the gold medal in the U15 Boys’ event, while Koh Junhao took the third place. For the girls, Chloe Lai Neng Huen and Janissa Cheng Yoke Ning, each of them took a silver medal in the U15 and U19 Girls event respectively. 

In the same weekend at Toa Payoh Sports Centre, the swimmers were making a splash in the pool. Their competitions were held over two weekends, with the event concluding in the weekend of 4-5 September.

For Sports School’s only Taekwondo exponent, Brandon Low Sze Sheng, his arena was online as he had to submit a video of his performance. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Year 6 student-athlete has impressed the judges at the poomsae event where he won a silver medal. 

While there were adjustments to be done, the 2021 National School Games (NSG), which was also a virtual event, had definitely helped Brandon to re-evaluate his performance. Comparing with his performance at the NSG, Brandon said: “Being the youngest competitor in the category - with the oldest at 30 years old - I felt that I have improved from the NSG. I learnt that there is increased competition, and I have to consistently train to maintain my performance and improve further.”

RESULTS

Badminton

U15 Boys’ Singles 

Joint 3rd – Justin Tay Ron Hsien & Ng Ming Zhe

U15 Girls’ Singles

Champion – Chia Xin Ying

2nd – Aaliyah Bte Zakaria

3rd – Lee Feiyi Stefanie

U17 Boys’ Singles 

Champion – Chua Min Han

3rd – Eng Tiam Meng Timothy

U17 Girls’ Singles

Champion – Megan Lee Xinyi

3rd – Andrea Jacqui Tay

U17 Boys’ Doubles 

Champion – Nge Joo Jin / Wong Kai Ji Mark

U17 Girls’ Doubles 

Joint 3rd – Chia Xin Ying / Lee Feiyi Stefanie & Amber Lim Xiao Qin / Kaelyn Lim

Table Tennis

U15 Boys 

1st – Nicholas Tan 

3rd – Koh Junhao 

U15 Girls 

2nd – Chloe Lai Neng Huen

U19 Girls 

2nd – Janissa Cheng Yoke Ning