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SEA Games: S’pore reigns supreme in men’s waterpolo again

KUALA LUMPUR – Singapore men’s waterpolo team once again proved to be the kingpins of the sport in the region, as they secured their 27th straight South-East Asian (SEA) Games gold medal following a dominant 17 - 4 win over Malaysia at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil on Sunday morning (Aug 20)

The Singapore waterpolo team celebrating after their 17-4 win over Malaysia that clinched their 27th SEA Games gold. Photo: Jason Quah / TODAY

The Singapore waterpolo team celebrating after their 17-4 win over Malaysia that clinched their 27th SEA Games gold. Photo: Jason Quah / TODAY

KUALA LUMPUR – Their unexpected 4-4 draw with Indonesia last Friday – the first time they failed to win a match at the South-East Asian (SEA) Games since 1987 – had managed to dispel a little of the Singapore men’s waterpolo team’s previously invincible aura in the regional competition.

But that aura was restored in some style yesterday morning, as Singapore recorded a dominant 17-4 victory over Malaysia at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil to secure their 27th consecutive SEA Games gold medal.

Following Indonesia’s 12-5 win over the Philippines earlier in the day, Singapore knew they had to beat their causeway rivals by at least two goals in order to win this year’s competition.

 

After a cagey opening, the Singaporeans finally got into their groove as they raced to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter courtesy of goals from Koh Jian Ying and Bryan Ong.

The Republic continued on their upward momentum in the second quarter, scoring four and conceding just once to take an unassailable 6-1 lead into the half-time break.

It was in second half however, where Singapore really showed their class, as they scored another 11 goals – seven of which came in the third quarter alone – to take home the gold and extend their unbeaten record in the regional competition.

 

Singapore head coach Dejan Milakovic praised his charges for bouncing back from the difficult result against Indonesia, and said his players finally found their attacking verve in the competition – they had scored just 24 goals in their last four games – as they were finally “relaxed”.

“I'm more than happy…I'm proud, having these boys. They fought for their country like lions today,” the Serbian said.

“We showed in this last game what this Singapore team is made off…today, the boys were great, relaxed, and they finally they enjoyed their game. As a result, their shooting was much better, and they were able to make use of their opportunities well.

 

“These boys, all of them have great potential and they showed it today. No team in this competition won a game with as big a goal difference as we did today. Our defence has been solid, and moving forward, we need to work on how we can maintain our confidence and concentration under pressure.”

Singapore captain Loh Zhi Zhi revealed that the team did not pay any heed to Indonesia’s win over the Philippines, and were just focused on their own performance against Malaysia.

“We weren't nervous after knowing that Indonesia beat Philippines,” said Loh, who now has four SEA Games gold medals to his name. “We knew we were in control of the outcome of the competition, so we just concentrated on what we had to do during our own game.

“We didn't have any fear that we would not retain our gold medal today. We were pretty relaxed today compared to the previous few games where we were a bit too tense, and so we managed to show what we could do.”

One of the heroes for Singapore against Malaysia was Koh Jian Ying, who scoredfive goals during the match.

The 26-year-old admitted he was relieved to have been able to play a key part in Singapore’s victory over the Malaysians after failing to make an impact in the last three games.

“My role in the team…is more or less to provide the goals,” explained Koh. “But in this whole tournament, I haven't been shooting really well, so it's quite a relief that finally today I'm able to do my job.

“Everyone was fired up after the Indonesia game because we wanted to show that we're still the best team in South-East Asia. So everyone worked very hard today, and I think we proved a point that we’re still the best team in the region so far.”

 

 

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SEA Games 2017

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