Contributed by Soh Li Sar

Kuwait, April 8, 2009 – The Singapore water polo team are two games away from bringing the FINA World Men’s Water Polo Development Trophy back to South East Asia.

The Singapore water polo team have been making waves in Kuwait, where the tournament is held, with outstanding performances against Uruguay, Morocco, Philippines and most recently Jamaica, whom they beat 12-9 this afternoon.

This places Singapore firmly at the top of the Group B table with 9 points. They will play the only remaining group game against Kenya on April 9th, 2009 and are likely to battle the winner of Group A to clinch gold during the finals on April 11th, 2009.

Held every two years, the FINA World Men's Water Polo Development Championship is a tournament to engage water polo countries that are showing promise within their regions but have not reached the World or Olympic competition level.

In 2007, the Trophy winners were Colombia, while Puerto Rico and Iran took silver and bronze respectively.

Mr Ivan Tan, Vice-President for Singapore Water Polo, under the Singapore Swimming Association, is delighted with the results so far. Said Mr Tan: "For this team we have 6 members from the 2007 SEA Games as well as 7 new faces. We are in the process of providing more opportunities for younger players to be exposed to a high level of international tournaments."

Last month, Singapore participated in the 8th Asian Water Polo Championships in Changshu, China and emerged 5th in the Men’s category and 4th in Women’s category. This was a relatively young team from Singapore – the men’s team averaged 19 years old, with the eldest being Alvin Lee, a 28-year-old SEA Games veteran, and two players at 16 years old. Among this team, six of the players were selected to play for the FINA World Development Trophy.

The Singapore water polo team is also aiming for a spot at the upcoming Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou.

"Good results at this tournament will definitely help boost the Singapore Water Polo Team’s chances of being considered for Asian Games 2010," said Mr Tan. "We will try our very best to deliver the results in every match."