Nov 15
[Singapore, 15 November 2022] – Singapore cemented its position as the top water polo nation in South-east Asia following a sixth-placed finish for the men’s national team at the Asian Water Polo Championships. Despite losing 7-14 to South Korea in the fifth-place playoff yesterday, the men ended the 10-team men’s tournament as the top Asean nation.
Singapore had also beaten host Thailand 12-9 in an earlier classification match.
Singapore’s 52-year reign as regional kingpins ended at the 2019 SEA Games when Indonesia took the crown, with Singapore having to settle for a bronze. The Republic’s road to reclaiming their status as Asean’s best men’s team received a boost in May when they won the inaugural Inter Nations Cup, which featured South-east Asia teams.
And following the results at the Asian Championships - in which the men also beat Kuwait and Hong Kong, but fell to powerhouses Japan and China - men’s captain Loh Zhi Zhi said that it was mission accomplished.
“Overall, we had many good games, and though we didn’t get fifth spot, we did hit our target for this competition,” said Loh.
Loh added that the experience of playing against Asia's strongest teams was good for the team, which has an average age of 23 and featured three teenagers.
Coach Kan Aoyagi explains that he wanted to give the younger players a chance to gain competitive experience as they are part of his long-term plan to excel in the next eight years.
With the squad aiming to do well in the SEA and Asian Games next year, the experience gained by going up against world powers like Japan and Kazakhstan - who finished 10th and 11th at last year’s Olympic Games - will put the team in good stead.
The men will be hoping to reclaim their Asean men’s crown at the Cambodia SEA Games as well as improve on their 2018 Asian Games showing - in which they were sixth - at the rescheduled 2022 Hangzhou event next year.
Said Aoyagi, who is targeting a gold at the SEA Games and a fifth-place finish at the Asian Games: “We have stronger and more experienced players, but for this tournament, we wanted to allow the young ones gain confidence for next year’s SEA Games. We must get the gold medal this time.”
Women’s team register top-five finish
Although the women’s team beat South Korea 18-4 to finish fifth, they had to settle for second-best in the race for top Asean honours.
Host Thailand beat Singapore 13-9 in an earlier group match and the win ensured they finished the six-team tournament in fourth place, one ahead of Singapore.
The national women’s team, following their 18-4 win over South Korea. The win ensured they ended their campaign as Asia’s fifth-best team.
But there were still plenty of positives for this young team - made up of players whose average age is 23 - said women’s captain Koh Ting Ting. Going up against the region’s top teams like China, Japan and Kazakhstan has given the team much needed exposure as they eye good outings at both the SEA and Asian Games next year.
“We were slightly disappointed to lose to our rivals, Thailand,” Koh said.
“Knowing that there will be a homeground advantage, we felt like we did not lose to them in physique or ability, but because we let the nerves get to us.”
But the team bounced back to ensure they ended their campaign on a winning note, with Ong Cheng Jing getting the MVP nod for her impressive showing against South Korea.
Koh also had praise for the youngest member in the squad, 16-year-old Ranice Yap, who was making her national team debut at this tournament.
Said Koh: “She has great potential and we’re glad to have her at this championships.”
Singapore Swimming Association vice-president (water polo) Dominic Soh said both teams, despite their relative inexperience, deserve credit for putting up good performances against tough opponents.
He added: “We deliberately brought along many young players with an eye on longer-term development and potentially winning a medal at the Asian Games in the near future.”
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For more details, please contact CROWD Pte Ltd, PR Agency for Singapore Swimming Association:
Shazlin Shamsudin
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(M) 9223 6781 Michiko Pang Social Media and PR Intern (E) [email protected] (M) 9664 7587