SEA Games 2023: Loss in 2019 ‘purely a fluke’, Singapore water polo men one step from gold
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Yip Yang from Singapore (right) and Juan Paolo Banaga Serrano from Philippines in the men's water polo match at the SEA Games.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Follow topic:
PHNOM PENH – For four years, they had only one mission – to reclaim the SEA Games gold.
With the Singapore men’s water polo team just one step away from success after a 10-4 victory against the Philippines on Monday, veterans Yip Yang and Loh Zhi Zhi can consider it mission accomplished.
Barring a sensational upset in their last match against Cambodia on Tuesday, they need only a draw to be confirmed as champions. The hosts have lost all four of their games so far.
Yip, 32, had retired in 2017 and could only watch helplessly as the team lost first to Indonesia, and then drew with the Philippines at the 2019 Games to relinquish their 54-year stranglehold on the title.
Former captain Loh, 33, had also stepped away after the Kuala Lumpur Games owing to family commitments. Like Yip and Loh, others like Paul Tan and former captain Eugene Teo – who are 39 and 35 respectively – also returned to the national fold for the 2023 edition. All four contributed a goal each in Monday’s game.
Yip, who won gold in 2013, 2015 and 2017, said: “(The objective was) to show the region once again that Singapore is a powerhouse and that whatever happened in the past was purely a fluke.
“Because after over 50 years, we’ve lost once and people are thinking it might be the start of a new trend, but that is definitely not the case. The wins this year are probably by a bigger margin than we have seen for some time. So I think we have made it (our dominance) very clear.”
Singapore are top of the six-team tournament with 12 points from four matches. Defending champions Indonesia and Thailand are three behind, having played the same number of games.
On Sunday, in what was their most important match, Singapore secured a 12-5 win over Indonesia
Singapore kicked off their campaign with a 12-7 win over Thailand last Friday. A day later, they thumped Malaysia 14-1.
The attention has already shifted to the Sept 23-Oct 8 Hangzhou Asian Games, and retirement can wait, said the veteran players.
Loh, who has competed in three Asian Games, said: “I spoke with my wife about it. We are taking it year by year. I think its the same for everybody else.
“As a team we have aspirations for the Asian level. This is not the finish line for us. This is just a building block. Coach Kan (Aoyagi) and the association have put systems and processes to ensure there is a good pipeline for Singapore water polo.”
Echoing that sentiment, Yip said that the real test of the team’s future would be their results at the Asian level.
He added: “We did bring back one of the strongest squads we have had in recent years. I mean, there’s no point in just stopping at SEA Games if everything’s going to fall nicely in the same year.
“We treat the SEA Games as mere preparation to Asian Games. As much as we are happy. I mean, we’re not lying, we are elated to get back our gold medal but the Asian Games will be our bigger goal.
“To face powerhouses like Iran, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, China and Japan. That will be our real aim.”
