Singapore sporting heroes before they were famous
They are now household names, known for their standout moments in stadiums and swimming pools. But once upon a time, these Singapore sporting heroes were chasing a dream. We dig into our archives for the first, or nearly first, time their faces appeared in The Straits Times.
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(Clockwise from top left) The likes of Fandi Ahmad, Feng Tianwei, Yip Pin Xiu, Loh Kean Yew, Joseph Schooling and Shanti Pereira have achieved great success, not just regionally, but on the biggest sporting stages.
PHOTOS: ST FILE
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Fandi Ahmad on Dec 17, 1977
Kelantan goalkeeper Halim Ramli (left) rushes out to block Omar Salleh’s (right) shot in the Lion City Cup semi-finals in 1977. Second from left is Singapore’s Fandi Ahmad.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Just 15, the future football star
After retiring in 1999, Fandi turned to coaching and enjoyed success with several clubs, winning the S. League twice with SAFFC (2000 and 2002) and the 2015 Malaysia FA Cup with LionsXII. He was interim national coach of the Lions in 2018 and held various positions within the Football Association of Singapore. He returned to his former club, Sri Pahang, and is its current head coach. All four of his sons
Noting that The Straits Times has been like family – “we had many laughs and good memories, which I really appreciate” – Fandi says: “I still remember the April Fool’s Day prank in 1984 when there was a front-page story about me joining Manchester United. Then, in 1993, Wilfred Yeo (a former Straits Times deputy sports editor) wrote my first autobiography, which helped chronicle the key moments of my life up to that point.”
Yip Pin Xiu on May 16, 2006
Yip Pin Xiu, then 14, was lauded as a promising member of the Singapore Disability Sports Council’s junior swimming programme. The article accompanying this photo was about how Singapore Press Holdings Foundation had given $28,000 to the council to develop a grassroots programme for young swimmers with disabilities.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
Now 33, Yip is the most decorated Singaporean para-athlete, with seven Paralympic gold medals
She was described as “highly rated” in the main photograph, but it was Yip’s good friend and fellow para-swimmer, Theresa Goh, who was cited in the article as a contender for a medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
The older Goh, now 38 and retired, returned empty-handed – she would clinch a bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro – and it was Yip who rose to the occasion in the Chinese capital, becoming Singapore’s first, and still only, Paralympic champion in the 50m backstroke S3 event. She would add further golds at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Paralympics.
Yip notes that at the 2008 Paralympics, The Straits Times was the media outlet “most keen on covering the Games”, and its coverage over the years has boosted the profile of para sports in Singapore. Seeing stories move from the charity pages to the mainstream sports and local news pages was a “game changer”, she adds.
She also cites the publication’s annual Straits Times Athlete of the Year award
Feng Tianwei on Feb 2, 2008
Feng Tianwei represented Singapore at four Summer Games. Her haul of one silver and two bronze medals makes her the country’s most decorated Olympian.
PHOTO: ST FILE
On Jan 11, 2008, Feng’s application for Singapore citizenship was approved, paving the way for the then 21-year-old to represent her adopted country at the Beijing Games in August.
A promising youth player, the Harbin-born Feng was recruited by a Singapore Table Tennis Association coach in late 2006 and arrived in March 2007 under the Foreign Sports Talent scheme.
She quickly impressed officials before securing her spot on Singapore’s Olympic team. There, she played a starring role alongside Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu to clinch an Olympic silver in the women’s team event, the Republic’s first medal at the Summer Games since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang’s silver in 1960.
Then President S R Nathan and Defence Minister and Singapore National Olympic Council president Teo Chee Hean cheered on the players in the exciting best-of-five format semi-final against South Korea at the Peking University Gymnasium. Back home, Singaporeans in their living rooms, in offices and coffee shops were glued to their TV screens during the see-saw contest which eventually ended 3-2 in Singapore’s favour. The paper would devote six pages, including the front page, to this historic achievement.
Feng was also instrumental in leading Singapore to a shock victory at the 2010 World Team Table Tennis Championships, beating China, who were bidding for a ninth straight title, in the final.
She added two more Olympic bronze medals (singles and women’s team) at London 2012 and spent the majority of her career ranked among the world’s top 10. She retired after winning three golds at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Joseph Schooling on March 22, 2009
In March 2009, Joseph Schooling rewrote Singapore’s oldest junior record, the Under-14 200m butterfly, with a time of 2min 10.56sec, almost three seconds faster than Tan V-Meng’s previous mark set in 1987.
PHOTO: ST FILE
The skinny 13-year-old with an awkward smile was some years away from the strapping and confident Olympic champion he would become. Schooling’s first appearance in the paper was part of a Sunday Times package about Singapore’s up-and-coming swimmers.
The teenager was then breaking numerous national age-group records. In 2011, he competed in his first SEA Games at the age of 16, winning two golds. The medals kept coming – at the 2014 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, the World Championships a year later, and finally, in an improbable victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics
The paper devoted almost 10 pages to his win the morning after and many more in the days following, splashing his winning smile several times on the front page. A live stream of his victory parade, with thousands lining the roads in Singapore, was also part of the paper’s coverage, as were numerous stories on The Straits Times’ digital platforms.
Looking back on that period, what stands out for Schooling was a video produced by The Straits Times chronicling his rise and an interview with his parents. Schooling, who retired in April 2024,
Shanti Pereira on May 4, 2009
While she was at the Singapore Sports School, Shanti Pereira dominated the sprint events in the C and B Division and rewrote several age-group records.
PHOTO: ST FILE
As the younger sister of national sprinter Valerie Pereira, much was expected of Shanti from an early age. She was only 12 when The Straits Times highlighted her potential in a 2009 article titled “Meet the school sports heroes”.
She did not disappoint, breaking numerous age-group records before establishing herself as Singapore’s fastest woman
After that high, however, she struggled with her form, enduring criticism for several years – including comments about her weight – and predictions from various quarters that her best days were over. But she proved her naysayers wrong, bouncing back in spectacular fashion by winning gold in the 100m and 200m sprints at the SEA Games in May 2023.
She broke more barriers later that year at the Hangzhou Asian Games, clinching a silver in the 100m before her historic victory in the 200m, Singapore’s first track and field gold medal since the 1974 Asiad.
Loh Kean Yew on May 18, 2015
Penang-born Loh Kean Yew (back row, second from right) received his Singapore citizenship in February 2015 and would make his international debut for the Republic at that year’s SEA Games on home soil.
PHOTO: ST FILE
If not for his all-bright turquoise outfit, you could be forgiven for overlooking Loh in this group photo of Singapore’s badminton squad selected for the 2015 SEA Games.
After all, he was only 17 with modest results so far in his career and about to make his international debut for his adopted country – having received his citizenship in February that year – at the upcoming biennial Games.
The Penang-born Loh, who enrolled at the Singapore Sports School on a scholarship in 2010, would exceed expectations when he clinched a bronze medal in the men’s singles.
He served further notice of his talent in 2019. Ranked world No. 125, Loh stunned two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the Thailand Masters final before making history two years later by winning the world championships
A full-page comic strip in the paper depicting his 2021 world title stands out for him.
“Be it the ups or downs, the achievements or the struggles, I will look back in the future with appreciation that there was such a documentation of my playing career that I can share with my future generation.”
Correction note: The photograph of Fandi Ahmad from 1977 has been updated. The previous photograph showed only Omar Salleh.
Jonathan Wong is assistant newsletter editor. He joined The Straits Times in 2008 and has worked in various sections, including Sport and the Singapore desk. He covered swimmer Joseph Schooling’s historic gold-medal feat at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Additional reporting by David Lee
