SINGAPORE — Their omission from the 2013 Asian Youth Games (AYG) caused a stir when the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) announced their athlete list last month for the upcoming regional games.

Yesterday, Singapore’s under-14 football team and three paddlers had cause for cheer instead after earning the nod from the AYG appeal committee for the Nanjing Games (Aug 16-24).

The appeal committee, helmed by SNOC President Teo Chee Hean, met for nearly two hours at the Singapore Sports Council yesterday and decided to include 18 football players and three from table tennis, as well as one athlete each from fencing, badminton, athletics and swimming.

While 95 youngsters have been selected, the team will be trimmed to 85 by the June 25 deadline.

With qualification set at a sixth-best finish in Asia or at the last AYG, national selectors had cited the lack of results for the U-14 footballers during the first round of selections.

The team that finished fourth out of 12 ASEAN nations in last year’s Asian Football Confederation U-14 Festival of Football backed up their bid with two friendly matches last month against China’s Asian Youth Games team — which saw the Singaporeans notching a loss (1-2) and a win (2-1) — to prove to the appeals committee that they were worthy.

A Football Association of Singapore (FAS) spokesman welcomed the U-14s’ inclusion, saying: “They will get the much-needed experience and exposure from playing against the top Asian sides … to further enhance their football development and propel them to greater heights.”

U-14 goalkeeper Aaron Tang from the Singapore Sports School was delighted to learn he will be heading to Nanjing. “I think we will fare well enough with the effort and hard work we put in, and we will do our best and strive for a medal for Singapore,” he told TODAY.

While there were no new results for table tennis, the SNOC gave the go-ahead to Edric Lim, Yee Herng Hwee and Tay Hui Li.

Explaining the SNOC’s decision yesterday, Secretary-General Chris Chan said: “We looked at who they had beaten (in tournaments) … Edric beat an opponent who is ranked 16th in Asia, while Herng Hwee beat a girl who is ranked 12th. Hui Li had beaten Herng Hwee in the selection trials.

“The selectors acknowledged that they have commitment and are training full-time for three years, and that (the Singapore Table Tennis Association) have a structured programme not only for AYG and YOG (Youth Olympic Games) but plans for the national team.”

Table tennis chief Lee Bee Wah was happy to learn of the players’ selection.

She said: “This is a somewhat sweet victory for all of us at the STTA and we are glad that we kept pushing for our athletes’ inclusion.”

Apart from the appellants, three others were included after beating qualifying marks, namely long jumper Shaun Moh, singles shuttler Yeo Jia Min, and backstroke swimmer Garret Tan.

Tan’s nomination had caused some unhappiness in the fraternity as it came a month after the designated selection trial.