SINGAPORE — A hush descends on the mat at the Singapore Judo Federation’s (SJF) Guillemard Crescent headquarters as Benny Tan and Soh Keng Chuan begin their skilful dance, a six-minute routine of shoulder throws, hip throws and foot sweeps.

Unlike its more explosive cousins wushu, karate and taekwondo, the art of nage-no-kata — a demonstration form of judo — is not well known to Singaporeans.

But the SJF are hopeful that both the kata and shiai (contest) disciplines will find more fans here when the SEA Games returns to the Republic in 2015 after a 22-year absence.

They are also plotting a return to the glory days of old, when K S Moorthy and Ang Teck Bee competed at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and when Edmund Tan and Tang Soon Onn won two golds at the 1989 SEA Games. At the 2011 SEA Games, Ang Xuan Yi won the sport’s only medal —a bronze in the women’s under-57kg category.

“Our aim is definitely for 2015. It’s make or break for us,” said SJF high performance manager Gerard Lim. “If we do well, it will help popularise the sport and give it a new lease of life here. We are aiming for a full team of 16 fighters and three kata teams, and hope to have 70 per cent of them winning medals in 2015.”

Added Tan, 27, who is a bank relationship manager: “That the SEA Games is coming back after so long is exciting. But there are also standards to meet, and we want to perform well.”

Singapore judo’s road to recovery recently received a huge boost after 10 judokas — a record-high number — were selected for December’s Games in Myanmar. Aside from nage-no-kata pair Tan and Soh and ju-no-kata duo Vanessa Ng and Ngo Yee Ling, six fighters (Ang, Gabriel Yang, Gary Chow, Joel Tseng, Timothy Loh and Ho Han Boon) will contest the women’s U-57kg, men’s U-90kg, U-81kg, U-66kg, U-100kg and Over-100kg categories respectively.

Before this year’s Games, Singapore judo’s largest representation was at the 1975 South-east Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games in Bangkok (seven) and in Singapore in 1973, where the seven-member squad won a record four golds.

The SJF hopes to include two more athletes by the Singapore National Olympic Council’s Aug 19 appeals deadline, and have targeted four medals in Myanmar.

Said Lim: “The 2013 Games is part of our mid-term plan, which will culminate in 2015. We expect all our athletes to be ranked fifth or better, and for 50 per cent to get medals.

“Both our kata teams are very strong, and while we are being conservative in our targets, if there are any gold medals, it will be easiest to predict that for the kata.”

To prepare for Myanmar, Yang and Chow will be in Mongolia from October to December for centralised training. The others may join them if the SJF can raise enough sponsorship funds.

Meanwhile, Tan and Soh will compete in the Kata World Championships in Kyoto, Japan, on Oct 19 and 20, before joining Vanessa and Ngo in Tokyo for a two-week training stint at the Kodokan Judo Institute.

Former wrestler Yang, who returned to judo last year after a three-year break, is all pumped up for the December Games after making his debut in 2009 in wrestling and finishing fourth in the men’s U-84kg.

Said the 26-year-old teacher at Yusof Ishak Secondary, who won gold at last year’s Vietnam International Championships: “This is my first as a judoka, so you could call me a late bloomer. We are all motivated as we now know we are training for a specific goal. I am hoping for a podium finish this time.”

Team-mate Vanessa, 17, wants to make up for the disappointment of finishing fifth at the 2011 SEA Games. Said the Temasek Polytechnic veterinary technology student: “I had switched from shiai to kata in 2011 to partner Yee Ling. I felt a lot of pressure then, because she had won a bronze in 2009 with her previous partner.

“In 2011, we knew we had done well and were shocked and upset when we saw the result.

“But I thought this is not the end. The only way for me is to make it perfect this time around. We have waited two years to prove to ourselves that we can do it.”