What a great 28th SEA Games it had been!
If you follow this blog long enough, you'd probably know that I follow all major sporting meets, from the regional SEA Games, to Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and to the bigger Olympics and the World Cup.
But never was I so glued to the TV or the Live broadcasts on YouTube & Toggle, and also the Official Games Website. The Games were officially from 5 to 16 June, but I started following all the action right from 1 June, when the Table Tennis matches started, all the way to the final Gold match this afternoon. Call me a big fan and I shall take it, because I am.
Team Singapore did so much better than all our other SEA Games outings, and even surpassed the 50-gold record set in 1993, also in Singapore. This time round, I caught both that historic 50th and 51st Gold live on TV, as well as a number of other milestones, like our 100th medal, 150th medal and 200th medal. In fact, out of our 84 Gold moments, I caught 28 of them live on TV, and 2 of them live at the venue.
I was diligently in front of the TV for all the 36 Swimming finals (which Singapore won 23) over 6 evenings. I also caught action from Table Tennis, Wushu, Bowling, Netball, Basketball, Football, Diving, Gymnastics, Billiards & Snooker, Athletics, Water Polo, Badminton, Volleyball and Waterskiing. That tells alot about how my last 16 days were spent! And how much I enjoyed being a closet fan of Team Singapore. I didn't, however, buy tickets for any matches -- I only caught some Waterskiing events live at the Bedok Reservoir, after doing a short run there on a Saturday morning.
I found it really inspiring at this year's Games, to see how our local sportsmen pushed themselves and received medals in 33 out of 36 sports. (Only Football, Petanque and Tennis were medal-less). It is a really rare occasion for Singapore to take part in all the disciplines (of course, because we're hosting them), and then come out as the country with the most number of medals (Gold+Silver+Bronze). Team Singapore must have been very encouraged throughout the Games, to know that so many medals of any colour were being added daily. It is also worth mentioning that there had not been any day when Singapore did not add at least a Gold medal to the tally throughout the Games. It's huge. (But of course, we have to thank the scheduling team for the strategic scheduling to ensure that First Gold and Final Gold were to land safely into Singapore's hands. First Gold was Table Tennis Doubles, and the Final Gold was Water Polo Men's.)
There were also countless moments to remember, like how Shanti ended our 42-year wait for a Gold on the Athletics Track; how the Swimming contingent created waves with 23 impressive golds; how Ashley Liew graciously waited for other marathoners to catch up from a wrong turn; how spectators sang Majulah Singapura at the top of their voices when the audio track malfunctioned at the Swimming Arena; how track athlete Lance proposed after his run in front of the stadium crowd; and how so many others pushed their limits just so that they could stand proud in front of their own family and friends....And the list goes on.
All our 747 athletes were a source of inspiration to others. They fought, not just for personal glory, but also for national pride. And in so doing, many of them were hoping to raise awareness for their own sport in Singapore. In the 1993 Games in Singapore, Wushu was hugely successful and it popularised for a decade after that. The same went for Squash, which took a number of Golds that year, and it led many to pick up the sport. With 33 sports disciplines contributing to medals this year in Singapore, things may well look promising once again for the sports scene in Singapore.
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were the most spectacular that we've ever seen in all 28 editions of the SEA Games. The cauldron flame might have been extinguished, but let's hope the sporting spirit lives on, and that we'll not need to wait so long again, before we witness another occasion of Singaporean unity through sports.
人生是黑白的.
11:50 PM <3
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