Singapore’s top swimmers Yip Pin Xiu, Sophie Soon out of Asian Para Games

SINGAPORE – In a huge blow to Team Singapore’s campaign, top swimmers Yip Pin Xiu and Sophie Soon will not be competing at the Asian Para Games (APG) in Hangzhou – after their events were cancelled by organisers just three weeks ago.

In August, the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) had

announced a 33-strong contingent

who would compete across nine sports – archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, lawn bowls, powerlifting, shooting, swimming and table tennis at the Oct 22-28 event.

At the 2018 edition in Jakarta, Singapore won three gold, two silver and five bronze medals in swimming, bowling, boccia and cycling.

Five-time Paralympic champion Yip, 31, was initially scheduled to compete in the S2 50m and 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle, while Soon was pencilled in for the S12 100m free and back, and SB12 100m breaststroke.

However, both swimmers will now miss out after their events were canned at the 11th hour owing to a lack of competitors in their classifications.

Speaking to the media at the send-off ceremony on Tuesday, Singapore chef de mission Monique Heah said: “It is a bit of a loss for Team Singapore. The athletes are disappointed of course, but that’s how it is in Games.

“I’m hoping for the best, I will not project how many medals we’ll get but I hope that we’ll bring some back.”

In para sports, athletes are grouped by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment. Within each category there are a vast range of abilities, so athletes are further divided by class in a system designed to ensure they compete against others with approximately the same capabilities.

Physical impairments are from numbers 1-10: the lower the number, the more severe the impairment. Vision impairments go from 11-13, while 14 indicates intellectual impairment.

Yip, who won a gold and two bronzes at the 2018 edition, was given the option to compete in a higher classification but declined. Soon, a triple-gold medallist at the Asean Para Games in June, was not given a similar option.

Despite the duo’s late withdrawal, the 31-member contingent – who comprise 16 debutants – departed for Hangzhou on Tuesday in high spirits.

A crowd of over 100 people comprising family and friends, as well as Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, were at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 to send them off.

Para swimmer Toh Wei Soong said that Yip and Soon will be missed but he remains hopeful. The 25-year-old said: “I think it’s a shame that some of the senior team members don’t have events at these Games.

“But the team, including the debutants, have a good chance to do well and I’m rooting for them as much as possible.”

Sophie’s younger brother Colin, was “a bit disappointed” to miss out on the opportunity to compete together with his sibling in his APG debut.

Among those in the contingent gunning for glory in Hangzhou are boccia athlete Jeralyn Tan and her coach-competition partner Yurnita Omar, who recently upset top-ranked Brazilian Andreza de Oliveira in the BC1 female final to claim gold at the World Boccia Cup in Portugal.

There is also more at stake for the duo. Yurnita said: “We are looking forward to qualifying for a slot in the 2024 Paralympics. To qualify, we have to be in the top three.”

Para badminton player Tay Wei Ming, 34, who reached the men’s SU5 singles quarter-finals in 2018, added: “The goal is to perform better than my previous result and qualify for the Paralympics as well.”

Shot putter Diroy Noordin, who was Singapore’s flag bearer at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, will be competing in his second APG after finishing fourth in the F40 event in Jakarta five years ago.

He said: “I hope I can make an improvement and do something better than my first APG. What I want is to beat my personal best.”