TOWARDS 2010

By Jeannette Xavier

The SEA Games came and went all too quickly. And now a new year is upon us. As we look forward to another good year for Singapore sports, here are some of our favourite memories from Vientiane.

Let's move beyond the obvious top moments like swimmers Quah Ting Wen and Tao Li clinching five gold medals each. Or discus thrower James Wong winning yet another gold. Or the water polo boys maintaining their unbeaten record in this regional competition.

Great Memories
With that in mind, here are some of our top moments in no particular order. One of the best memories must be swimmer Lynette Lim showing great fighting spirit as she overcame a disappointing narrow loss in the Women's 400m Freestyle to come back and win gold in the 800m Freestyle. Another stirring moment came from young shooter Goh Jia Yi who gave seasoned teammates a lesson on how to stay cool in the midst of intense pressure - and win gold.

Shutting Out Distractions
Shot putter Zhang Guirong also showed us a thing or two about shutting out distractions to focus on what matters - delivering results. Then there was the Men's Snooker Doubles pair of Ang Boon Chin and Lim Chun Kiat who surprised us with their winning performances. Spare a thought too for gutsy swimmer Jeffrey Su who swam bravely despite a painful loss in his family. Paddler Zena Sim certainly deserved all the praises she has received for the role she played to help the women's team clinch gold.

Silvers & Bronzes
Shuttlers Shinta Mulia and Yao Lei may have missed the gold in the Women's Doubles but did enough to inspire us all. Golfers Johnson Poh, Lam Zhiqun, Jonathan Woo and Jonathan Leong also had near misses. Yet their silver in the team event was commendable. Finally, give unsung heros like Khairul A. Bin Hamid and Mohamad Sulaiman Bin Mohamad Yusof a pat on the back. Their breakthough bronze in boxing and silver in wrestling (team pictured) respectively may just be the beginning of better things to come in their sports.