SEA Games 2019: Niche sports from underwater hockey to sambo, and what to expect from them

SINGAPORE — Surfing, underwater hockey, figure skating — hardly the kind of sports that Singapore is renowned for, but the country’s athletes in these arenas are hoping that will change in the coming weeks.

A select group of athletes competing in these “unusual” sports will be part of the 666 representing the country at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which officially opens on Saturday (Nov 30) in the Philippines.

Some of the athletes are in sports that will be featured at the SEA Games for the first time, including breaking (dancesport), esports, beach handball, jiu-jitsu, kurash, sambo and skateboarding.

Here are six sports where Singapore’s athletes are hoping to make a mark at the Games:

Sambo

When he was a national fencer, Nazri Sutari had hoped to qualify for the fencing event at the 2009 SEA Games, but national service commitments held him back.

Ten years on, the 29-year-old will get to fulfil his SEA Games dream in sambo — a form of martial arts that originated in Russia in the 1920s.

Nazri was dabbling in mixed martial arts when he was introduced to sambo at the start of this year. And he has established himself quickly in such a short time.

He qualified for the SEA Games by winning a silver at the Southeast Asia Sambo championships in June.

Next, he is aiming for the top prize in a sport that is making its debut at the Games this year.

“I am definitely gunning for the gold. I know it's easier said than done but I have prepared as well as I could leading up to the Games,” he said.

Underwater Hockey

As its name suggests, this sport involves players using short, curved sticks to hit a puck into the goal, underwater.

It is a new addition to the SEA Games and Singapore will be up against the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia.

Shawn Chue, 39, said the team are confident of sweeping all four golds up for grabs. “We had a minimum of seven training sessions, two hours each, every week. We’re fully prepared and confident,” said Chue.

However, he admits that the hosts have an advantage as the sport is more established in the Philippines and they will be playing on home ground.

Nevertheless, the Singapore men’s team beat the Philippines to win the 2017 Asian Underwater Hockey Championships in Beijing. In that same tournament, the women’s team lost to the Philippines to finish as runners-up.

Surfing

Although there are hardly any waves here, six national surfers will be looking to make their own come the SEA Games.

The two women and four men have been training overseas, in places like Desaru in Malaysia and Bali in Indonesia.

Indonesia are traditional powerhouses, while Thailand and the Philippines are dark horses, said Mr Arfian Abu, the Singapore Surfing Association president.

As it was just recently that the sport has started to gain traction here, he does not want to place too much pressure on the athletes going into the Games.

“Secretly, we are hoping to get some medals,” said Mr Arfian. “At least a bronze.”

Skateboarding

While Singaporean skateboarder Feroze Rahman, 28, has made his name on the world stage, finishing top at the Asian X Games in 2011 in Shanghai, he, along with his teammates, will have to hold their own against regional powerhouses Indonesia and Philippines.

They will be up against Margielyn Didal who won gold for the Philippines at the 2018 Asian Games women’s skateboarding street event and Indonesian Sanngoe Dharma Tanjung, who snagged second place at the Asian Skateboarding Championship in 2016.

Mr Muhammad Rezal Ramli, vice-president of skateboarding at the Singapore Rollersports Federation, believes that Singapore’s skateboarders could spring a surprise as they are an unknown quantity.

The team includes young skateboarders such as Nur Farah Atika Abdullah and Nur Azyan Azman, both aged 21.

Esports

This is the first time esports is part of a medal event at a competition sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.

Singapore has a contingent of 20 gamers participating in six events: Arena of Valor, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Dota 2 and Tekken 7.

Renfred Ng, 29, part of a five-man team contesting in the Arena of Valor tournament, believes that having esports included in the SEA Games is a boon for the gaming community.

“I think in the years to come, this will help to move the whole scene of esports in Singapore forward,” said Ng, who is also known by his gaming moniker Elespresso.

“This is like a stepping stone, so I'm really proud to be one of those contributing in the first wave.”

Figure Skating

When the sport made its debut at the last SEA Games, Singapore’s representative Yu Shuran, then 16, won a gold. While she was forced to retire in 2018 due to a neurological disorder, the runner-up in the 2017 Games, Chloe Ing, is stepping up to the plate.

Ing, 21, who finished behind Yu in the 2017 Games with a silver, won this year’s Singapore National Figure Skating Championships in the senior ladies category.

She told TODAY that she has been training six times a week, for up to five hours each day.

When asked if she has her sights set on a podium finish, Ing, who is based in Toronto, Canada said she is only focused on doing her best.

“Bringing a medal home would be nice… it’s something I would be really proud of doing,” Ing said. “Subconsciously (to win gold) is in the mind of every athlete, but I would say it’s not something that I put full focus on.”