TOWARDS LAOS

By Jason Cai
 
Many competitions have been lined up for Team Singapore athletes as they build up for the SEA Games in Laos in December. Some of the meets are of the highest level, like the coming World Team Cup in Linz, Austria, which will feature our top paddlers. Others are at the regional level, like the Asian Championships for our track & field athletes in Guangzhou in November.
 
All Systems Go
 
Whatever, it's all systems go for our athletes as they aim for a good showing to boost their confidence for the SEA Games. The paddlers heading to Linz are Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu. Being the second seeds behind world champions China, they are expected to do well but they will  have their work cut out. Afterall, this is the most prestigious team tournament after the Olympics and the World Championships and so competition will be most stiff.
 
Ahead Of SEA Games
 
In Guangzhou, all eyes in the Singapore camp will be on athletes like sprinters Poh Seng Song (pix) and Muhammad Elfi Mustapa. They are hoping to impress national selectors ahead of the SEA Games. Poh shone at December's Asean University Games in Kuala Lumpur where he clocked a personal best of 10.49 seconds but his form hasn't been so hot this year. Elfi made his mark with his time of 10.59 secs at the Taipei Open earlier this year.

Gearing Up

Athletes from the other sports are also busy competing in between training as they gear up for the action in Laos. Our swimmers, for instance, will compete at the FINA/Arena World Cup in Singapore in November. Competing against big stars like USA's Aaron Peirsol and Australia's Lisbeth Trickett will give swimmers such as Tao Li and Quah Ting Wen plenty of top level exposure before their assignment in Laos.