37 Team Singapore athletes selected to take part in 11th ASEAN Para Games

Thirty-seven Team Singapore athletes will represent Singapore at the upcoming 11th ASEAN Para Games (APG), announced the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) on Thursday (Jun 23). 

Among them, 17 will make their APG debut. The biannual multi-sports event will take place from Jul 30 to Aug 6 in Solo, Indonesia. 

This will mark its return for the first time in five years, with the last edition being the ninth APG which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2017. The last two editions, which were to be hosted by the Philippines and Vietnam, were cancelled. 

The oldest competing athlete in this year’s Team Singapore contingent is 57-year-old Tan Kok Leong, who will compete in Para Table Tennis, while the youngest athlete is a 14-year-old swimmer. 

Paralympians who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games — Nur Syahidah Alim (Para Archery), Muhammad Diroy Noordin (Para Athletics) and Sophie Soon (Para Swimming) — will lend their experience to the contingent as well. 

Eight athletes will represent Singapore in Table Tennis, making up the largest team out of the nine sports.

Athletes who have yet to qualify will have until the end of June to meet the selection criteria for the Games, said SNPC. 

The contingent will be led by Chef de Mission Mr Low See Lien, who is the Honorary Treasurer of SNPC. 

Mr Low said: “We are thoroughly excited that the ASEAN Para Games will be staged and we thank Indonesia for stepping up to the plate to host the games. Our athletes have trained hard and have risen above many challenges over the last few years.

“I appeal to all Singaporeans to rally behind our athletes and to give us that extra lift through their support.”

President of SNPC, Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang said: “We are confident that our para athletes and officials will fly the Singapore flag high at the Solo 2022 ASEAN Para Games.

“We wish them all the best in the final phase of preparation for the games.”

The ninth APG saw Singapore sending its largest away contingent of 90 athletes. They then went on to deliver the country’s largest away APG haul of 50 medals. 

Organisers for this year’s APG are expecting more than 1,600 para athletes from across Southeast Asia to compete during the eight days.

The 37 selected athletes are:

Archery: Lim Qi Mao, Nur Syahidah Alim

Athletics: James Ethan Ang, Maisarah Bte Md Hassan, Muhammad Diroy Noordin, Muhammad Nur Ariq Bin Yaakub, Siti Nurhayati Binte Ali Aksar Khan, Suhairi Bin Suhani

Badminton: Ang Chee Hiong

Boccia: Aloysius Gan Kai Hong, Gareth Ho, Jeralyn Tan, Neo Kah Whye, Toh Sze Ning

Chess: Edwin Tan

Goalball: Christina Aw, Inez Hung, Joan Hung, Norliana Mohamed Ajam, Nurul Natasya Idrus

Powerlifting: Lin Shuangchen

Swimming: Colin Soon Jin Guang, Darren Chan Wei Siang, Fu Ai-lin Nicole, Janelle Tong Jing Xuan, Liauw Thiam Hee Jeremiah, Moi Yan Ting Danielle, Sophie Soon Jin Wen, Wong Zhi Wei

Table Tennis: Caleb Lee Jia Xuan, Claire Toh Shumin, Fong Wei Cheng, Muhammad Dinie Asyraf Bin Huzaini, Mu Yuguang, Tan Kok Leong, Ting Chee Keong Eric, Yeo Kwok Chian Aaron