Taekwondo exponent Ng Ming Wei lost the SEA Games men's Under-58kg final yesterday but was still in good spirits because he had much to be proud about.
For one thing, the 25-year-old's silver is Singapore's best result in the men's kyorugi (sparring) discipline since S. Sinnathurai's flyweight gold in 1999.
Secondly, his achievement comes on the back of a turbulent few months for the athletes, after the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) was suspended by World Taekwondo, over good governance and other issues, and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) in May.
After his 27-14 loss to Ramnarong Sawekwiharee, Thailand's 2015 and 2017 world championships bronze medallist, Ng dedicated his medal to the fraternity in Singapore.
"I feel very happy, because I think this medal means a lot for the future and for those who are doing taekwondo in Singapore," said Ng, who also expressed gratitude to the SNOC and the national team of Norway, where he spent about three of the past six months training.
"I hope this medal inspires more people by showing that Singapore can do as well as other South-east Asian countries."
Reaching the final was a "blessing" for Ng, who clinched a bronze at the 2015 Games on home soil, as he had been unsure of his chances.
After the STF's suspension, the SNOC set up a major Games preparation committee to take over the sport's Games preparations.
"Since (the suspension), I take everything as a blessing ... I don't ask for much but, if I get it, it's good," said Ng, who put his studies at the Nanyang Technological University on hold to train.
"I didn't have much expectations. I just tried to do my best and take it one fight at a time."
Singapore team manager Ho Mun Wai hailed his achievement as an encouraging result and believes he has the potential to go further.
"Hopefully this will inspire our athletes in Singapore to train harder and (see that) there is an opportunity to do well in international competitions," he added.
"We had a very short time to prepare so we just wanted everyone to do their best.
"I hope this humble achievement will help unite the taekwondo community and that we focus on athlete development and (growing) the sport."
The Philippines topped the competition with eight golds, followed by Vietnam (four) and Thailand (three). Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia had one gold apiece.
