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Without them around, his motivation to continue in the sport has faded. He now does biathlons.
Nov23 last year was the day he, Mr Reuben Kee, 23, and Mr Chee Wei Cheng, 20, boarded a 22-man boat for a race on the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh.
The boat capsized, casting the rowers into the swirling currents. Mr Tan and 16 others made it safely to shore.
The bodies of Mr Kee, Mr Chee and three others - Mr Stephen Loh, 31, Mr Jeremy Goh, 24, and Mr Poh Boon San, 27 - surfaced only two days later.
Last night, Mr Tan was among 200 relatives, friends and former teammates of the five men who packed the hall of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Jurong East for a memorial service on the first anniversary of their deaths.
The survivors from that race wore black armbands.
A photo montage of each of the five victims was shown, followed by speeches by their friends and families, mostly reminiscent in mood.
A minute's silence ended the service.
Family members who spoke to reporters were still clearly upset with the Singapore Dragon Boat Association.
Mr Kee's father, Mr Freddie Kee, 53, said he was not happy with how the association seemed to have forgotten about the five rowers. He had expected a minute's silence to be observed at yesterday's Singapore River Regatta at Boat Quay, but this was not the case.
The rowers' families also took issue with how the association had tried to clear itself of blame over the tragedy.
At the regatta venue, however, was at least one sign that the rowers had not been forgotten: A standing banner carried the names of three of the five paddlers who were from the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association.
New safety measures debuted at the event:
- Rowers boarded their boats from a pontoon, which they got onto via a wooden staircase, instead of having to negotiate the slippery, algae-covered steps on the river banks;
- Each rower had an assigned buddy he was to look out for if the boat capsized;
- Each wore an identification tag with personal details and a photograph.
Also, all team managers were given a thorough two-hour briefing last Tuesday, and frequent announcements were made reminding rowers about using footwear and to keep their life vests on.
Mr Chua Wee Wah, 29, a regatta veteran who rowed for the National University of Singapore alumni team yesterday, said boarding the boat from the pontoon was a lot safer, as people had slipped on the staircase on the river banks in the past.
As supporters cheered the regatta teams on, the dead rowers' families found themselves revisiting memories.
Mrs Cathy Loh, 59, Mr Loh's mother, said she still cries when thinking of her son. She said: 'The memorial service is not a closure for us...It's not like a book that you can close and forget.'
For Mr Kee, the joint memorial service was cathartic.
He said: 'I would prefer not to be here, but I thought it would be a good idea for our families to come and cry together.'
