Yip Pin Xiu, Toh Wei Soong clinch top honours at the Singapore Disability Sports Awards 2023
The holders of the 14 awards were celebrated for their contributions and achievements in disability sports.
Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu was awarded Sportswoman of the Year for the fourth time at the Singapore Disability Sports Awards (SDSA) on Nov 15.
The title of Sportsman of the Year went to para swimmer Toh Wei Soong. Previously, he was Sportsboy of the Year in 2019 and 2020.
The SDSA 2023 ceremony, organised by the Singapore Disability Sports Council and presented by the Haw Par Corporation, saw a record-breaking number of 14 awards presented.
Held at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, the ceremony honoured high performers and contributors to disability sports. A total of 80 nominations were made, marking a leap from the previous year’s 30 nominations.
In an effort to acknowledge the larger community, the new awards ‘Coach of the Year (Community)’, ‘Spirit of Sport (Male/Female/Team)’ were also introduced. The ‘Event/Initiative of the Year’ award was split into two separate awards – ‘Event of the Year’ and ‘Community Changemaker of the Year.’
Wong Zhi Wei, who won two gold medals in swimming at the 2022 ASEAN Para Games, was named Sportsboy of the Year.
Eight-time bowling medallist at the Deaflympics 2022 and SEA Deaf Games 2022 Adelia Naomi Yokoyama earned the title Sportsgirl of the Year, “breaking new ground for deaf athletes.”
The Team of the Year Award was presented to 2022 ASEAN Para Games boccia gold medalists Aloysius Gan and Toh Sze Ning. Their competition partners, Kagan Gan and Chew Zi Qun, also received the award.
The new Spirit of Sport awards were given to athletes who recently displayed resilience in their sporting journeys.
The Spirit of Sport (Female) award went to the first Singaporean boccia athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games, Nurulasyiqah Taha.
Wheelchair basketballer Dexter Goh, aged 65, received the new Spirit of Sport (Male) award.
The Singapore Rollers, a powerchair football team, claimed the Spirit of Sport (Team) award.
William Woo Nam Fatt, a former national bowler, received the Coach of the Year (High Performance) award. Coach of the Year (Development) went to para table tennis coach Goh Chyuan.
The new Coach of the Year (Community) award went to Lanny Kwok. She acts as the Vice Principal of Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School (West) and spearheaded the expansion of a new boccia community programme at Pasir Ris Sports Centre.
Playbuddies, a ground-up initiative to allow children with disabilities to enjoy sports free, was the Community Changemaker of the Year.
A long-time senior volunteer at Special Olympics Singapore, Yeo Jia Chyang, received the Volunteer of the Year award for her work training members with intellectual impairment in swimming.
The Event of the Year went to Run for Inclusion 2022, which was organised by grassroot group RunningHour.
With regard to the combined achievements of para athletes and community support, SDSC’s Executive Director, Ms Kelly Fan, had this to say: “We aim to highlight [them] to showcase the diverse successes individuals with disabilities can achieve in para sports and the varied roles stakeholders can play in empowering these achievements.”
