SEA Games 2025: Sailors Ryan Lo, Ethan Chia and Jania Ang strike gold for Singapore

SINGAPORE – What was meant to be a routine competition in the lead-up to the SEA Games took an unexpected turn for national optimist sailor Ethan Chia in early November.

While competing at the Regatta of Champions in Cyprus, the 15-year-old was struck by acute appendicitis and had to undergo surgery.

The Raffles Institution student said: “I was quite lucky that the appendicitis occurred quite early and it was not much closer to SEA Games. Furthermore, healthcare (in Cyprus) was good.

“I was definitely worried but I just wanted to work with what I had at the moment and try to recover as soon as possible.”

The teenager was still able to go for a SEA Games pre-event at the Sattahip coastal area in Chonburi a few days after he returned from Cyprus. While he did not sail, he still went out on a boat to analyse the races.

Despite the ordeal, Ethan recovered well and delivered a gold-medal performance at the Samudara Klia Yachting Centre in Chonburi, scoring 15 points in 10 races from Dec 10-14 to edge out Thailand’s Adison Ein (26) and Malaysia’s Yaasin Syahrizan (27).

The unexpected setback did little to dent his confidence heading into the Games, which was bolstered by his experience at the 2023 edition, when he won a mixed optimist silver with Cheryl Yong.

Ethan was pleased to win his final optimist event, adding: “I feel quite proud to get the gold this year, I got some experience from the 2023 Games.

“I learnt to cope under pressure and stress – it can be stressful, it can be a matter of one race that makes a difference so I learnt to keep calm through the whole regatta and get good scores at the start and stay consistent.”

Singapore’s sailing team enjoyed further success as Ryan Lo and Jania Ang also claimed gold in the men’s ILCA 7 and women’s ILCA 6 respectively.

There were also silvers from Austin Yeo in the boys’ ILCA4 and Anya Zahedi in the girls’ optimist, while her older sister Nia Zahedi clinched a bronze in the girls’ ILCA4.

For Lo, it was his fourth straight title in the event, though it did not come easily.

The 28-year-old was second after the first two days, but fought back to retain his crown, finishing with 15 points in 10 races, ahead of Malaysia’s Khairulnizam Afendy (19) and Thailand’s Bowonnan Chanram (24).

He credited the support of coach Tom Saunders and team manager Xu Yuan Zhen.

The Asian Games champion said: “I was still confident in what I was doing, I didn’t need to make any changes.

“I knew what I was doing right and what I could adjust a bit to put a bit more pressure on the Malaysian and I did that and I kept my cool, kept to my race plan and kept being consistent throughout the event, which helped me get an edge.”

There was a time when Lo did not expect to be making his fifth SEA Games appearance, after taking an indefinite break post-Paris Olympics.

But he returned to competition in early 2025.

Lo said: “It feels great. It’s very special, same as the first gold medal that I got at the SEA Games, even more so now as I approach my tail end of my sailing days.

“I definitely cherish and appreciate every moment that I get to race.”

Ang, meanwhile, claimed her first SEA Games gold after finishing second in the event in 2023.

The 21-year-old was victorious with 14 points in 10 races, ahead of Malaysia’s Nur Shazrin Latif (21) and Thailand’s Noppassorn Khunboonjan (24).

Like Ethan, Ang drew confidence from her outing at the previous biennial meet.

Since then, she has gone for more international competitions and training camps, gaining exposure to a higher level of sailing.

The Nanyang Technological University undergraduate said: “Back then, it was a major Games, new experience, pressure, eyes on you, those things are things you have to juggle on top of not having so much experience.

“Having that not be a new thing for me definitely helped and also the fact that I knew how challenging it could be.”

Additional reporting by Melvyn Teoh