Singapore Bags Largest Number Of Medals Since 1958 Commonwealth Games

15 OCT 2010

Singapore Bags Largest Number Of Medals Since 1958 Commonwealth Games

Athletes Return Home Following Stellar Performances At The XIX Commonwealth Games In New Delhi With 31 Medals In Tow

Team Singapore ended its participation at the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on a high note with Yang Zi clinching the Gold medal at the Table Tennis Men’s Singles event, bringing Singapore’s total medal tally to 31, bettering our previous medal haul by 13 medals - the largest number of medal wins at any Commonwealth Games in its participation history.

  1. Team Singapore has emerged with yet another winning performance at a major Games. This stellar performance was achieved despite the challenging environment. Expressing her pride and satisfaction, Chef-de-Mission Ms Annabel Pennefather said, “2010 has been a great year for sports in Singapore, especially so with Team Singapore producing sterling results at this year’s Commonwealth Games. Despite trying circumstances, our athletes have broken records, rewritten history and we have discovered many talents that can take sports in Singapore to the next level.”

Of Rising Stars

  1. Singapore not only sent its largest-ever contingent comprising 65 athletes and 34 officials to the XIX Commonwealth Games, she also sent a relatively young contingent with 54 debutants and 28 athletes who are aged 21 and below. A stunning 74% of the Team Singapore medallists (17 of 23) are debutants, with one of them, shooter Gai Bin, bagging the most number of medals ever at the Commonwealth Games for Team Singapore. He contributed seven medals to the medal tally.

  2. The Team Singapore contingent includes three young athletes who debuted at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, held in Singapore in August 2010 - archers Vanessa Loh and Elizabeth Cheok, as well as swimmer Arren Quek. More notably, Vanessa Loh showed maturity past her years when she held her own against her opponents and made it to the quarter-finals of the Individual Recurve event.

  3. Another athlete who deserves special mention is paddler Pang Xue Jie. As the youngest member of an all-star team, Xue Jie proved in his performance that he was just as deserving of the prestigious spot as any one of his teammates. Even though he did not manage to secure a win in the Round of 32 of the Men’s Singles event, he was the embodiment of the indomitable Team Singapore spirit as he put up a good fight against his worthy opponent from India.

Of Medal Calibre

  1. Team Singapore clinched its first medal - a team gold - through an exciting win by marksmen Gai Bin and Nigel Lim Swee Hon at the Pairs 50m Pistol Men’s event. The Pairs 50m Rifle Women’s team quickly caught up with one more team gold medal through Jasmine Ser Xiang Wei and Aqilah Sudhir.

  2. Throughout the days of the competition, shooting continued to strike many medals, in both the team and individual events. At the end of the nine-day competition for shooting, Team Singapore shooters secured 14 medals in total, making this their most fruitful outing at the Commonwealth Games in the history of Singapore.

  3. Jasmine Ser became the first Singaporean to win an individual gold medal when she broke the Final Games Record (FGR) with a score of 501.7 points at the Singles 10m Air Rifle Women’s competition. The 20-year-old returned home with four medals in tow - 2 gold and 2 silver medals.

Of Smashes and Aces

  1. Singapore’s women’s table tennis team came into the Commonwealth Games as the reigning champions, and successfully defended their title against hosts India.

  2. The women’s team made it an all-Singaporean affair at the table tennis single’s finals with Singapore’s top seed 24-year-old Feng Tianwei clinching the gold medal for Singapore - her first individual gold at the Commonwealth Games. 21-year-old Yu Mengyu also achieved her best individual result at any major Games, clinching the silver medal.

  3. The men’s team showed that their hunger for the gold medal knew no bounds. In a nail-biting match, Gao Ning, who is the number one seeded player in the team, overcame his defeat in the first game and the pressure to come back and win the most crucial game for the team, making history for Team Singapore by winning the first ever Men’s Table Tennis team gold at the Commonwealth Games.

  4. Also for the first time in history at the Commonwealth Games, it was Singapore against Singapore at the single’s men’s gold medal match with Singapore’s top two seeds battling it out for the gold medal while coaches sat among the crowd watching the match as spectators rather than as coaches.

Of Inspiration and Perseverance

  1. Team Singapore at the XIX Commonwealth Games have shown that sports such as archery, gymnastics and shooting have made great strides over the last four years since the last Commonwealth Games.

  2. David-Jonathan Chan made history when his performance on the pommel horse delighted the judges. With a bronze medal, the 25 year-old became the first Singaporean to ever win a medal for gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games. The very next day, his teammate, 21-year-old Lim Heem Wei, quickly caught up and became Singapore’s first ever silver medallist in gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games. These gymnasts have put in years of hard work and perseverance and while many gymnasts of their age have retired, they believed in themselves and gave their all at the Games, delivering stellar results.

  3. Even though the swimmers did not manage to clinch any medals, the young team of seven proved themselves by achieving 19 stunning personal best records, with debutant Dzulhaili Mohamed Kamal breaking five of his personal best records.

  4. Team Singapore’s para-swimmer James Leow and 100m para-sprinter Adam Kamis did the nation proud by giving their all at the Games, with Adam achieving his goal of breaking his personal best record.

Of A Job Well Done

  1. Taking stock, CDM Pennefather said, “Our Team Singapore athletes carried themselves as champions both in victory and defeat. Not only did they give their all in competition but they displayed professionalism, respect and sportsmanship. The credit for this outstandingly successful Team Singapore performance belongs to the athletes and team officials and all those who have supported them from their respective National Sports Associations, the Singapore Sports Council, the Singapore National Olympic Council and most importantly their families who supported their participation in the Games.”

  2. “Team Singapore athletes and officials prepared themselves for a successful outing to the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, and outperformed themselves despite challenging circumstances. The results have shown that even though Singapore is a small nation, we can and will continue to make our mark in the international sporting arena,” concluded CDM Pennefather.

Annex A: Team Singapore Medal Tally at the XIX Commonwealth Games & Annex B: Team Singapore Achievements at the XIX Commonwealth Games