Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

More than just a medal at stake

SINGAPORE — When Lawrence Tan hurt his back after landing awkwardly during a training session, concerned team-mates rushed to him — his health and safety mattered more than his failure to return a strike.

The Singapore men’s volleyball team target a semi-final spot at the Games. Photo: Jason Quah

The Singapore men’s volleyball team target a semi-final spot at the Games. Photo: Jason Quah

SINGAPORE — When Lawrence Tan hurt his back after landing awkwardly during a training session, concerned team-mates rushed to him — his health and safety mattered more than his failure to return a strike.

That spirit and togetherness was what helped Singapore national men’s volleyball team keep their hopes of participating in the coming SEA Games alive.

It has been a remarkable turnaround from less than a year ago, when Volleyball Association of Singapore (VAS) president Ang Wei Neng released a statement on Aug 24 that he would scrap the men’s volleyball team, citing a lack of commitment from them.

Ang, who is also a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, revealed that captain Javier Poon had, on behalf of the team, sent him an email saying that the team deserved a chance to vie for a spot at the June 5 to 16 SEA Games.

“I told everybody I was not going to form a men’s team,” said Ang. “Sport Singapore asked me ‘why don’t you form a men’s team? We are the host country’. They talked to me a few times but I kept saying no, until this group came (men’s team).”

To convince Ang that they were sincere, Poon and the rest of the players formed a team called “The Developing Team” (TDT) to take part in last year’s Singapore National Games, where they won all their games en route to clinching the title. They also surprisingly triumphed 3-2 in a friendly over a visiting Myanmar side which finished fourth at the 2013 SEA Games.

These results, along with the commitment showed by the players, helped convince Ang to have a change of heart. He said: “I wasn’t expecting our team to beat the Myanmar team, but we did. I was taken aback and all of us were surprised.”

But while the national men’s team have earned the nod from the VAS and Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) for the SEA Games, Ang stressed it is now critical that they maintain their momentum and put up a strong performance at the biennial meet next month to inspire the national youth team and the next generation.

It is a responsibility that Poon acknowledged. “To be realistic, I think we will need to show SNOC and Sport Singapore (we can perform),” said the 27-year-old. “Even though we started training for a few months, we mean serious business. We really want to do this for the long run and not just for the SEA Games.”

But he added: “We don’t want to set unrealistic targets. Other countries have been training for years while we have been training for months. A semi-final spot will be good for us.”

Singapore last reached the podium in volleyball at the SEA Games with bronze medals in 1981 (women’s) and 1993 (men’s). For the coming SEA Games, the Republic’s men’s team have been grouped with Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Thailand remain the sport’s regional powerhouses. Their women’s team have won 12 of the last 13 SEA Games — the sport did not feature at the 1999 Games in Brunei — while the men’s team are the favourites to clinch a third successive SEA Games title in men’s volleyball next month.

Although Singapore’s men’s national team have only had five months’ of preparations for the Games, national assistant coach Teo Siew Lan, 55, believes their determination to seize this second chance will make up for their relative lack of experience and technique.

“We know we are far behind (the likes of) Thailand. We need to do something else to play this game and that is the fighting spirit,” said Teo.

“Singaporeans don’t come to see an individual play, they come to see the team play and it is my job to put them together. When Singaporeans come and watch, they want to see the Singapore spirit, which is to never let go. When you wear this flag, there’s a significance to it.”

SINGAPORE’S SEA GAMES VOLLEYBALL COMPETITION SCHEDULE*:

June 10 — Men’s: Singapore v Cambodia

June 12 — Men’s: Singapore v Indonesia; Women’s: Singapore v Thailand.

June 13 — Men’s: Vietnam v Singapore; Women’s: Myanmar v Singapore.

June 14 — Women’s team semi-finals

June 15 — Men’s team semi-finals; Women’s team final

June 16 — Men’s team final

* All games at the Sports Hub’s OCBC Arena Hall 2.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.