SINGAPORE - A left ankle fracture has forced one of Singapore's main members of the women's artistic gymnastics team, Tan Sze En, to miss the SEA Games.

The 16-year-old injured herself during a training session on Tuesday (Aug 15) - less than a week before the start of the competition - while executing a round off double twist discount from the balance beam.

She was at the airport on Thursday morning to send the rest of the team off as they leave for Kuala Lumpur. The team comprise Nadine Joy Nathan, 17, Kelsie Muir, 18, and Zeng Qiyan, 19. Mei Togawa, 16, and Colette Chan, 17.

Nadine, Kelsie and Qiyan competed at the last edition of the SEA Games on home soil, where Singapore won a silver medal, while Mei and Colette are debutants.

With the injury, Sze En, who trains at the Legacy Elite Gymnastics in Chicago, has to wait longer to make her SEA Games debut.

Despite Sze En's absence, Singapore Gymnastics' general manager Karen Norden is confident that the team will put up a good effort in Malaysia.

She said: "We have quite an experienced team heading to KL and all the girls are fully prepared to compete on all four apparatus, giving the team flexibility to adapt to any situation."

In the team competition, the four best individual scores for each apparatus (floor exercise, uneven bars, balance beam and vault) are counted towards the total score.

The women's artistic gymnastics competition starts on Monday.