SEA Games 2025: ‘Team mum’ Ken Chou, 37, to make SEA Games debut in water polo

SINGAPORE – Not only does he stand out with his imposing 1.9m frame, Singapore goalkeeper Ken Chou is also an outlier in the revamped national men’s water polo team.

Chou, 37, is the oldest in the 15-member squad, who have an average age of 21.

The gentle giant, who boasts a wing span of more than two metres, also has a unique story to tell. The chief executive officer of home-grown tech company Intrasys, he was born to Taiwanese parents in Singapore and became a Singapore citizen only in 2022.

At an age where most water polo players would have hung up their swimming trunks and goggles, Chou is set for his SEA Games debut on Dec 15, when Singapore play Malaysia in their first round-robin match at the Thammasat University.

He told The Straits Times: “I feel very excited about playing at the SEA Games because it is something I have seen and heard so much about. I’ll do whatever I can to give back, because Singapore really has given my family and I a lot, and I don’t want to take it for granted.

“With my life experience, I know that the larger the obstacle, the larger the reward. I choose to see obstacles in another view and I feel that’s my secret super power.”

Incredibly, Chou learnt to swim only in his late teens and began training seriously in water polo while studying at the National University of Singapore – his stature made him a natural between the posts for a goalkeeper.

Even then, the “very late bloomer” stopped water polo after university as he was focused on growing his company. But he returned to the sport in 2022, as it provided solace from his problems at work.

He added: “I trained really, really hard, just burying my head and going all out.

“That was around when Kan (coach Aoyagi) also joined the national team. He spotted me during the national league, and told me he hasn’t seen someone saving a ball from post to post, and invited me to join the national team training.”

Still, Chou had to bide his time, missing out on the 2023 SEA Games as Aoyagi wanted him to train harder to get up to international standards.

His patience paid off as he made his international debut at the 2025 Asian championships, where Singapore finished sixth out of nine teams in March. The goalkeeper also played a key role in their historic world championships win over South Africa to place 15th out of 16 teams in July.

Although Aoyagi is preparing a “winning team for the next five to 10 years” and called up 11 Games debutants, he selected Chou for his leadership qualities. Goalkeepers also typically have a longer shelf life.

While Singapore have won 28 out of 29 men’s water polo golds at the biennial Games, they will be mindful of the painful loss to Indonesia and draw with the Philippines that saw them pick up only bronze in 2019.

The 45-year-old Japanese, who joined the team in 2021 and helped them reclaim gold two years later, revealed that it was a tough pick between Chou and Sanjiv Rajandra as team captain.

He said: “Unlike other sportsmen, Ken built his career first and then became an athlete. I feel he can share with the team his valuable experiences, what he has learnt is important in life, and also give them some advice about career planning.

“With his qualities, I think he can be the captain, but I asked him to give the younger ones a chance as this young team lacks strong leadership and we need to groom the next generation of leaders.

“So I told Ken I can be the dad who uses the whip, and he can be the mum who uses the candy.”

Chou is grateful for the opportunity and is ready to lead the team into more uncharted territories.

He said: “When I first joined the national team, representing Singapore was my target. People say in our 20s, it’s the destination that matters; in our 30s, it’s the journey that matters. As I’m in my late 30s now, I realise it’s actually the company that matters, and as I’m fighting alongside the team, I’m thankful for the coaches and players who trust me.

“I hope I can do this for a longer period because I think there’s a lot of potential to uncover. We have really closed the gap in Asia. In the past, we lost by big margins, but they paved the way for us to improve, and now there are some quarters where we can hold China, Kazakhstan, and Japan, so I think we are getting there.”

Meanwhile, the women’s team will play the Philippines on Dec 15, with national women water polo coach Yu Lei urging his side to “fight back for the gold” they last won in 2011 when the event made its Games debut. Since then, hosts Thailand have won it four times in a row.