SINGAPORE — After being omitted from the recently concluded SEA Games, weightlifting is highly likely to return to the 2017 edition in Malaysia, according to Singapore Weightlifting Federation (SWF) president Tom Liaw.

The sport has a special place in Singapore’s history. Tan Howe Liang delivered the nation’s first Olympic medal, when he won silver in the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

It is the federation’s hope that it will inspire young people to take up the sport, especially now that it has a new training centre, found in May after a five-month-long search.

Located at Jalan Benaan Kapal, a stone’s throw away from the Singapore Sports Hub, the facility is not the most impressive but it is a boost for a sport that has struggled with limited funding and a lack of major success.

“The Singapore Weightlifting Federation has gone through many challenges in terms of getting a suitable venue,” said Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min, who is also a SWF advisor. “I’m glad that they’ve finally found one over here. The federation would like to bring back the former glory to this sport. I believe moving forward, we’ll be training very hard to achieve that aim.”

Moving forward, Singapore’s weightlifters will be looking ahead to the 2017 SEA Games and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

“I understand Malaysia will very likely include weightlifting in the SEA Games,” said Mr Liaw. “We are already starting to prepare the athletes, develop them at least, to be ready for the 2017 SEA Games, because if they’re ready for 2017, they will be ready for the Commonwealth Games in 2018.”

One stumbling block for weightlifting in Singapore is the lack of athletes willing to pursue the sport. There are just 15 national weightlifters, but only eight to nine of them are able to train on a regular basis.

“From the past five to six years, we only have about three or four lifters. But now, it’s around eight or nine,” said Singapore weightlifter Ng Choon Yeow. “It’s good that the sport is growing slowly. But of course, it’s not fast enough.”

This is an issue that SWF is looking to address next. “We’re still trying very hard to actually get into the schools to be able to get students to participate, to take up weightlifting as a sport,” said Mr Lia

Up next for the Singapore weightlifters is the Commonwealth Senior, Junior & Youth Championships in India in October. CHANNEL NEWSASIA