Singapore, 25 February 2023 – More than 150 Asian Games-bound athletes joined the community on a run around the vicinity of the Singapore Sports Hub at the Singapore edition of the Hangzhou Fun Run organised by the Olympic Council of Asia(OCA) and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) earlier today.
Since 2004, the OCA has been organising a series of fun runs in different Asian cities to promote the Asian Games prior to the upcoming edition. Besides Singapore, the Hangzhou Fun Run has also visited communities in Uzbekistan, Thailand, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and will continue to Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Qatar.
Participants from the ActiveSG Academies, Team Nila and community walking groups joined Team Singapore athletes from 12 sports including archery, baseball/softball, sailing, contract bridge in a 3km run flagged off by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, President of the SNOC.
Team Singapore sailor and double Asian Games bronze medalist (2010, 2018) Ryan Lo is currently training towards a successful outing in Hangzhou and has his sights on qualifying for his second Olympic Games. He said, “My teammates and I are looking forward to compete in Hangzhou. The sailing conditions won’t be easy and the level of sailing will be very competitive. Nonetheless, we are all putting in our best efforts toprepare for a successful campaign, and I am certain that Hangzhou will present animpressive edition of the Asian Games.”
The crowd was also introduced to Team Singapore’s newly-appointed chefs de mission. Dr Koh Koon Teck will lead the contingent in Hangzhou and will be assisted by Olympians Tao Li and Koh Seng Leong.
Dr Koh is currently the President of the Basketball Association of Singapore and also serves as a member on the SNOC Executive Committee. The physical education and sports science educator was team manager to the men’s basketball team at the 2013 and 2015 Southeast Asian Games when they captured a bronze medal to end a 34- year drought.
Double Olympians – swimmer Tao Li and sailor Koh Seng Leong – will serve as assistant chefs de mission to Dr Koh. The Asiad will be Tao Li’s second assignment as a contingent leader. In 2018, she led Team Singapore’s Youth Olympic Games contingent to Buenos Aires as chef de mission. The 33-year-old was also the champion in the women’s 50m butterfly event at the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, and remains the only Singaporean woman to make an Olympic swimming final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
At the 2006 Asian Games, sailor Koh Seng Leong nailed a silver medal in the Laser Radial Open event after returning to competitive sailing following a motorbike accident in 2005 which caused him to miss the year’s SEA Games. After retiring from competitive sailing in 2010, the 39-year-old returned to sports in 2021 when he was elected as vice-president to Olympians Singapore, an association representing Olympians in Singapore.
“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, our athletes have been taking the challenges posed in good stride. Even with postponements of competitions and major Games, they continue to train and keep themselves in good shape physically and mentally. I am heartened to see such resolve and enthusiasm by our athletes as they put their best foot forward to represent Singapore at the Asian Games. I am confident with the support of Tao Li and Seng Leong – both who competed at the elite level as high performance athletes – that Team Singapore will have a fruitful outing in Hangzhou,” said Dr Koh.
Singapore is set its largest contingent to the Asiad with 382 athletes selected in 29 sports by the SNOC at the selection meeting last year. More are expected to join the team as athletes who have yet to meet the qualifying mark have till May 2023 for the Appeals Committee to consider their nominations.
The 19th Asian Games were originally scheduled to take place in 2022 but was postponed to 23 September to 8 October 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be 482 events competed in 40 sports. At the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018, Team Singapore’s contingent of 264 athletes came home with 4 gold, 4 silver and 14 bronze medals.
