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Low tips Schooling to shine in Glasgow

SINGAPORE — Sports such as shooting, badminton and table tennis have delivered medals for Singapore at the past Commonwealth Games.

Low Teo Ping, Singapore’s Chef-de-mission to the Commonwealth Games, expects Joseph Schooling to give a good account in his Games debut in Glasgow and perform better than at December’s SEA Games in Myanmar, where he won five gold medals. TODAY FILE PHOTO

Low Teo Ping, Singapore’s Chef-de-mission to the Commonwealth Games, expects Joseph Schooling to give a good account in his Games debut in Glasgow and perform better than at December’s SEA Games in Myanmar, where he won five gold medals. TODAY FILE PHOTO

SINGAPORE — Sports such as shooting, badminton and table tennis have delivered medals for Singapore at the past Commonwealth Games.

But this year’s edition, to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to Aug 3, is the first time that swimming will be packing some real ammo, with rising star Joseph Schooling, 18, included in the side and set for a stern test against some of the world’s best swimmers from Australia and Britain.

Schooling and two-time Asian Games champion Tao Li are the only two swimmers scheduled to compete in individual butterfly events after meeting the minimum sixth-place benchmark of the last Games set by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).

They were included in the SNOC’s preliminary list released yesterday in six sports that Singapore’s athletes will compete in Glasgow, namely athletics, badminton, gymnastics, shooting, swimming and table tennis.

Judo, wrestling, cycling and boxing, all of which were unsuccessful in getting the nod from the SNOC for the Commonwealth Games, are expected to make appeals next Tuesday.

The final list of athletes is expected to be finalised on June 11.

Low Teo Ping, Singapore’s Chef-de-mission to the Commonwealth Games, expects Schooling to give a good account in his Games debut in Glasgow and perform better than at December’s SEA Games in Myanmar, where he won five gold medals.

“I think he will not disappoint at the Commonwealth Games because an athlete like Joseph paces himself to peak for major meets and apart from Glasgow, there is also the Asian Games in Incheon he is looking at,” said Teo.

“But all this leads to his preparations and real target in Brazil and without the benefit of knowing who will be swimming in Scotland, we can expect Joseph to do well.”

United States-based Schooling, who will join the University of Texas in Austin in August, is regarded as a medal potential for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He was ranked among the top-five under-18 swimmers in the United States last year, where his time of 1min 56.27sec in the 200m fly saw him ranked third in the event.

He received a major boost to his preparations in October last year when he was granted full-time deferment from National Service by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) until after the Games.

Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) Executive Director Edwin Ker said they have not set any medal targets for the Commonwealth Games and the minimum that Schooling and Tao Li should achieve is the benchmark sixth-placed finish.

“As it is, there is already quite a bit of pressure on Joseph. Everybody, including MINDEF, will be watching to see how he performs, so he does not need the added pressure from us,” said Ker.

Singapore’s SEA Games gold-medal winning relay teams will also be travelling to Glasgow and their members can also compete in individual events although none have met the minimum benchmark.

The SNOC said the contingent for this year’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, from Aug 16 to 28 will also be finalised next month.

IAN DE COTTA

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