Sports Awards: Swimmer Joseph Schooling up for sixth Sportsman gong

Olympic swimming champion Joseph Schooling won the 50m and 100m fly golds at last year's Asian Games in Indonesia, along with two bronzes in the relays. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Olympic swimming champion Joseph Schooling could win his fifth consecutive Sportsman of the Year accolade - and sixth overall - at this month's Singapore Sports Awards.

The 23-year-old was among three finalists for the accolade announced by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) yesterday.

Said Schooling: "Being among the nominees for the Sportsman of the Year is great recognition for the effort I put in and out of the pool.

"I will continue to train hard and strive to achieve more and to make not only my family but my country proud.

"It hasn't crossed my mind about the number of times I've won this award. The records I'm focused on is what I would like to achieve in the pool."

The Rio 2016 Olympic men's 100m butterfly champion won the 50m and 100m fly golds at last year's Asian Games in Indonesia, along with two bronzes in the relays, and is nominated alongside now-retired paddler Gao Ning and silat world champion Sheik Farhan Sheik Alau'ddin.

  • SELECTED SINGAPORE SPORTS AWARDS NOMINEES

  • SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

    Gao Ning (table tennis), Joseph Schooling (swimming), Sheik Farhan Sheik Alau'ddin (silat)

    SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

    Roanne Ho (swimming), Nurzuhairah Yazid (silat), Vera Tan (wushu), Martina Veloso (shooting)

    SPORTSBOY OF THE YEAR

    Daniel Hung (sailing), Malcolm Lai (wushu), Hazim Yusli (silat)

    SPORTSGIRL OF THE YEAR

    Amita Berthier (fencing), Isabel Chua (wushu), Jaslyn Hooi (badminton), Constance Lien (jiu-jitsu), Kyra Poh (indoor skydiving), Quah Jing Wen (swimming)

    COACH OF THE YEAR

    Helmi Chew (bowling), Andrey Klyushin (fencing), Sheik Alau'ddin Yacoob Marican (silat), Gary Tan (swimming)

    TEAM OF THE YEAR

    Men's floorball, women's traditional boat, men's water polo

    SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

    Sazali Abdul Aziz, Nicole Chia (both The Straits Times), Kimberly Kwek, Dilenjit Singh (both The New Paper), Matthew Mohan (Channel NewsAsia Digital)

    BEST SPORTS PHOTO OF THE YEAR

    Lim Yaohui (The Straits Times), Lim Swee Chin Eric, Lim Weixiang, Lim Yong Teck, Dyan Kusuma Eka Putri

Now the men's national coach, Gao, 36, won the men's singles and mixed doubles titles at the last year's Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast.

Sheik Farhan was among seven Singaporeans who clinched golds at the World Pencak Silat Championship last year.

The Sportswoman of the Year will be a toss-up between Roanne Ho (swimming), Nurzuhairah Yazid (silat), Vera Tan (wushu) and Martina Veloso (shooting).

The nominees for the Coach of the Year award are Helmi Chew (bowling), Andrey Klyushin (fencing), Sheik Alau'ddin Yacoob Marican (silat) and Gary Tan (swimming).

While Sheik Alau'ddin has won the coaching award thrice (2000, 2002, 2003), no silat exponent has won either the Sportsman or Sportswoman awards.

Singapore Silat Federation chief executive Sheik Alau'ddin said the nominations will serve as a motivation for him and the silat community and he hopes it will encourage more people to take up the sport.

He said: "It's about time silat gets some acknowledgement. This is motivation for me to carry on doing what I love and get the drive for it.

"Silat has evolved with more people joining us. Year after year, what we've been doing is good and these nominations show silat has grown and we will continue pushing to get what we want."

Also, The Straits Times' Sazali Abdul Aziz and Nicole Chia are among five finalists for the Sports Journalist of the Year award.

In addtion, ST photojournalist Lim Yaohui's picture of bowler Muhammad Jaris Goh at the Asian Games is one of the Best Sports Photo of the Year nominees.

Organised by the SNOC and Sport Singapore, and supported by the Tote Board Group, the awards will be announced on May 14.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 01, 2019, with the headline Sports Awards: Swimmer Joseph Schooling up for sixth Sportsman gong. Subscribe