SEA Games Canoeing: Largest contingent ever to represent Singapore

Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

13 Singaporeans will be hoping to do the Republic proud in canoeing and kayaking at the upcoming 26th South-East Asian (SEA) Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The last edition of the biennial games did not feature the sport because the city of Vientiane in Laos did not have the necessary facilities.

This is Singapore’s largest ever contingent for the sport with 13 athletes (6 women and 7 men) attending the games. It is a young squad too, with all but one canoeist under the age of 25. While this year’s team may lack age, they are by no means inexperienced.

The youngest member of the squad, 16-year-old Brandon Ooi, already has international experience, qualifying for the quarter-final stage in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore last year.

The Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student, who competes in the K2 1000m and the K2 200m events, is excited about these games and has high ambitions for his canoeing career.

“Eventually, I hope to be World Champion,” he said. “That is my ultimate goal and I see this as a stepping stone for myself to get there. At these games, I want to do my best and do Singapore proud.”

The team has been training under Hungarian head coach Balazs Babella, a former world champion. The 33-year-old was part of the four-man team that won the gold medal at the International Canoeing Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Championships in 2005 and 2007 in the K4 200m event.

“It is definitely great to have a coach like this,” commented Annabelle Ng, who is the oldest member of the squad at age 27. “He can share his experiences with us and his standards are really quite high. Our biggest challenge is to meet his expectations that he places on us.”

One of Singapore’s hopes of a medal placing in canoeing lies with Geraldine Lee, who at the age of just 23, is one of the most experienced in the squad. She won a bronze at the 2007 SEA Games and was also a finalist in the 2010 Asian Games.

Geraldine will competes in four different events, the K4 500m, K1 500m, K4 200m and K1 200m.

“She’s a machine!” described head coach Balazs of his top athlete. “She works hard and she definitely has the potential to go far in these games.”

“My target will definitely be to go for medals at the SEA games,” said Geraldine, who started competing in the sport when she was a student at Anglo-Chinese Junior College. “It’s good to gain experience from this competition, but my goal will be to do Singapore proud on the medal front.”

“Although we may be a young squad, I don’t think age really plays a factor in contributing in passion. Passion comes from oneself and that is what will be pushing us on,” she added.

Team Manager Dr Shaun Ho, a public officer with Republic Polytechnic, agreed with Geraldine’s comment, but added that while the Singapore Team was training hard, the other South East Asian competitors were also doing so. He also noted that while medals were possible, everyone on the team would have to work hard for it.