Duo on heavyweight mission

SINGAPORE — They tip the scales at a combined 253kg and, tonight, Scott Wong and Lewis Chua will mark a special comeback for one of the Republic’s most storied sports when they head out to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

It was at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958 that Singapore weightlifting legend Tan Howe Liang won his first gold before going on to clinch titles at the Asian Games, South-east Asian Peninsular Games and Singapore’s first Olympic silver in Rome in 1960.

Teh Yong Joo was the last male weightlifter to represent Singapore at the Auckland Commonwealth Games in 1990, and Helena Wong became the nation’s first female lifter in a major Games after competing at New Delhi in 2010.

Wong and Chua will both feature in the +105kg category at the Clyde Auditorium on July 31, ending the 24-year absence of the nation’s male lifters at a multi-sports event.

For former discus thrower Wong, the road to Glasgow began with a dispute with the Singapore Athletic Association that saw him switching to weighlifting 10 months ago.

A slipped disc injury sustained in March nearly derailed his journey before he finally qualified for a spot two months later.

Wong, a 23-year-old medical student at the University of Manchester, is determined to make his Games debut count, and he has targeted a fifth-place finish in Glasgow.

“I just returned from 10 days of centralised training in Hainan with my coach, and it went well as I got to work on my technique and weaknesses,” said Wong in an interview at the Singapore Weightlifting Federation’s headquarters at Kallang.

“A lot of hard work was put into qualifying and I’m glad I made it. It will be a tough category to compete in with the top guys from Australia, Canada and Samoa, but I hope to better my personal best of 312kg and hit about 315 to 320kg.”

Weightlifting may have been left out of next year’s SEA Games in Singapore, but Wong has set his sights further: Qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. Getting to Rio de Janeiro may entail taking a year off school to train full-time, something Wong is considering.

“I need a year to train at the highest standard and improve my fitness and technique,” he said.

“I’m hoping to drop one weight category to 105kg as there is a better chance there, and I need to hit about 374kg to finish in the world’s top 10 to qualify. The Commonwealth Games is for me to see where I am at the higher level and then work out my next move.”

Team-mate Chua booked his Glasgow ticket in March after lifting a total of 312kg at the Singapore National Open. Aside from aiming to better his PB of 316kg, the 22-year-old gym owner is hopeful that their Games debut will help lift the sport’s profile in Singapore.

Said Chua, who missed out on competing at the 2011 and 2013 SEA Games: “It is an achievement being at the Commonwealth Games. We are at the lower end of the country’s sporting list at the moment, and hopefully us going to the Games to end a 24-year absence for Singapore will help spike interest in weightlifting.”