PM Lee sends message of support for Team S'pore

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has issued a message of support for Singapore's Olympic-bound athletes and urged them to do their best "from preparation to competition".

In a Facebook post on Thursday, he noted that the sporting community is one of the groups hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

He referenced a campaign launched in April by Team Singapore to support the Olympians and Paralympians ahead of both Games, which had been postponed by a year due to the pandemic.

He wrote: "Team Singapore launched a campaign to support our athletes as they prepare for the Olympics and Paralympics, which were postponed last year due to Covid-19. Despite the disruptions, they have been training hard and making sacrifices, including deferring their studies.

"To our national athletes, I wish you all the best in Tokyo. Give it your all, from preparation to competition, and continue to fly the flag high!"

The Olympics will be held from July 23 to Aug 8 while the Paralympics are from Aug 24 to Sept 5.

For the Olympics, Singapore will be represented in at least nine sports, including swimmer Joseph Schooling, the defending champion in the 100m butterfly, and Jonathan Chan, the first diver from the country to qualify for the quadrennial Games.

At the 2016 Rio Games, Singapore sent 25 athletes from seven sports. Chan, 24, welcomed the support of PM Lee.

"It is definitely nice to know that PM Lee is supporting us and has our back or even has us on his radar," he said. "We are all preparing for the Olympics with the assumption that it is going ahead despite the concerns of the global pandemic, so this is a boost for us."

Deepanraj Ganesan

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