Singapore opposes Olympic games boycott

Singapore on Tuesday voiced its strong opposition to the calls to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games in August this year.

“The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports opposes the call from some quarters to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games,” said the ministry in a statement on Tuesday night.

Singapore’s Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said in the statement that a boycott will mean many missed opportunities for better cross-border and inter-cultural understanding.

It will also be a great disappointment for all the athletes who have trained so hard to fulfill their dreams of competing in the Olympics, he added.

The minister stressed that sports should be separated from politics.

“I believe it is vital to keep sporting competitions and politics separate. We must not let politics obstruct the celebration of sports and all that it stands for,” he said. (story)

Organizers play wrong anthem for gold medal winning Chinese athlete

China’s Liu Xiang received the gold medal for the 60 meter hurdles on two occasions Sunday after a mix-up over the national anthem.

A bemused Liu was the model of stoicism in the initial ceremony as organizers inadvertently played Chile’s national anthem instead of the Chinese.

But he then shook his head as he explained to fellow medalists Allen Johnson and Evgeniy Borisov and organizers what had happened.

An altogether happier Liu took to the podium for a second time 10 minutes later to pick up his gold once again, on this occasion accompanied by the correct anthem. (link)

2010 Summer Youth Olympics awarded to Singapore!

The news that Singapore waited over seven months for came at precisely 7.11 pm on Thursday, broadcast live via satellite link from Lausanne in Switzerland. It was delivered by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, who simply said: ‘The IOC has the honour of announcing that the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010 are awarded to the city of Singapore.’

With that, more than 5,000 people who had gathered at the Padang for the announcement, as well as countless others glued to television sets across the island, threw up a resounding cheer.

At the Padang, the reactions of the ‘Ser’ tandem of Singapore’s IOC Executive Board member Ng Ser Miang and Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck, who had been instrumental in pushing the bid, reflected Singaporeans’ joy over making history. (story)

Formula One ticket buying process a major hassle

When tickets for the world’s inaugural Formula One night race went on sale on Thursday morning, fans were expecting a well-oiled ticketing machinery at work. Instead, what happened when the starting flag came down was complete chaos.

A server error caused the entire ticketing system to foul up. Fans tried for hours to get through the ticketing website and failed.

Even as late as 5pm, fans called up The Straits Times to say they were having problems getting into the F1 website to buy tickets.

Those who tried calling also could not get through.

Some who tried both and failed rushed down in the hope they would have better luck buying over the counter. They were wrong. (story)

Lin Dan loses match and temper

World number one Lin Dan has refused to apologise for his part in an ugly scuffle with South Korea singles coach Li Mao during the final of the Korea Open Super Series at the weekend.Lin, beaten by Korean Lee Hyun-il in Seoul on Sunday, appeared to throw his racquet in fellow-Chinese Li’s direction after protesting a line call awarding a match point to Lee.

The hurled racquet sparked a shouting match between Lin and Li, and play was halted for about two minutes as match officials struggled to restrain world champion Lin. (story)

Wanted: Wang Xin

Wang Xin, the general manager of S-League football club Liaoning Guangyuan, is now a wanted man.

The 40-year-old Chinese national was to be charged on Wednesday on 25 counts of match-fixing, but failed to turn up in court.

The charges allege that he offered bribes to eight Liaoning players to fix the scoreline of six S-League matches last season.

Wang’s arrest was announced by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on Jan 7. Subsequently, the ex-Chinese national youth footballer applied to the High Court for permission to return to China to settle personal matters. (story)

SEA Games: Singapore sweeps table tennis

Helping Singapore to a place in the record books was turning into a distant dream for Wang Yuegu in Monday’s women’s singles semi-finals. After dropping the first two games of the best-of-seven match to Thailand’s Nanthana Komwong and with the third balanced finely at 8-8, Wang knew it was now or never.

Singapore were chasing a historic clean sweep of all seven South-east Asia Games table tennis titles, and Wang did not want to disappoint.

Clasping her bat with her sweaty right hand, the world No 8 pointed her left index finger skyward, telling herself to take it one point at a time.

After the world-ranked 84 Nanthana served, the Singaporean’s reply was quick and to her opponent’s weaker left side.

The Thai over-hit her return. (story)

Singapore beats Thailand for the gold

Singapore added two more golds to their SEA Games medal tally in Thailand on Wednesday.

Singapore’s shooting team had earlier hit eight golds from their competition which ended on Monday.

Singapore’s latest medals came from the table tennis men’s and women’s teams.

In the men’s event, defending champions Singapore beat Thailand 3-0 for the gold. (story)

Maria Sharapova to play exhibition in Singapore

Former world number one Maria Sharapova will make her debut in Singapore next month when she takes on compatriot Anna Chakvetadze in an exhibition match.Sharapova, who has won two grand slam titles, will play the world number six on December 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, organisers said on Friday.

The 20-year-old was runner-up in the season-ending WTA tour championship in Madrid after making a top-five finish in the tour rankings for the fourth consecutive year. (story)

Singapore wins first medal in men’s 10m Air Pistol

Singapore’s 10m air pistol men’s team has won the country’s first medal at the South-east Asia Games in Bangkok. The trio of Gai Bin (575pts), Ho Hung Yi (572pts) and Poh Lip Meng (571pts) chalked up 1,718 points, behind Thailand (1,722) and Vietnam (1,722).

The finals have been postponed to Wednesday due to protests from the Thais over the results.

The SEA Games officially starts on Dec 6, but the shooting programme is one of a few events to start before the opening ceremony.

Singapore’s shooters won three golds, four silvers and five bronzes at the last Games in Manila.