Three Singapore squash players will have to wait a little longer for a break after the Nov 30-Dec 11 SEA Games, with the Republic slated to compete at the Dec 15-21 Men's World Team Championship for the first time in 22 years.

Samuel Kang, 29, and the Chua brothers Man Tong, 25, and Man Chin, 22, will play in both events, with Brandon Tan, 21, completing the squad heading for Washington DC.

Man Tong, who will captain both teams, told The Straits Times: "We've been training hard for the SEA Games so, hopefully, we can take the momentum into the world team championship.

"The squash season (lasts) most of the year and back-to-back tournaments are part and parcel of what we do."

He stressed the SEA Games in the Philippines, where Singapore are the defending men's team champions, remain their priority.

For the 23-team world event, he said the expectation is to "see how we perform against top players", adding that they are keen to learn more about how the world's best train and compete.

"I believe this is a step forward in raising the competitive level of squash in the nation, and also to motivate a younger generation of squash players to look forward to big events like this. What we will experience and learn from this event can be shared with the Singapore squash community."

Singapore's best finish was sixth in Cairo in 1985 by Peter Hill, Zainal Abidin, Anthony Chua and Alex Tay. Singapore were ninth when they were the hosts in 1989.

The Singapore Squash Rackets Association said: "The entry was submitted a while ago because our players had done well at previous regional tournaments. We are sending them for exposure at a world-class tournament.

"Half of the team are our younger players and this will be an excellent experience for them."