PHNOM PENH – As Team Singapore readies for battle at the May 5-17 SEA Games, fans across South-east Asia will be eyeing the medal table as the nations renew their tussle for the top spots in Cambodia.

For Singapore, a return to the 50-gold zone after four years is a tall order, but The Straits Times believes that the 558-strong contingent can make a solid push across 30 sports to achieve that goal.

Once again, swimming is expected to do the heavy lifting for Team Singapore, with table tennis, fencing and pencak silat also expected to help in the hunt for the half-century in Phnom Penh.

Before 2017, Singapore had never breached the 43-gold mark at an overseas Games nor gone beyond its best-ever haul of 50 in 22 years, but hosting the 2015 edition gave its athletes the belief to break the glass ceiling.

However, in the three editions since amassing a record 84 golds, 73 silvers and 102 bronzes on home soil, there has been a downward trend of gold medals since.

In 2017, Singapore’s 568-strong contingent won 57 golds, 58 silvers and 73 bronzes across 35 sports – a new best for an away Games.

Two years later in the Philippines, its biggest contingent to an away Games – 666 athletes competed in 48 sports – returned with 53 golds, 46 silvers and 68 bronzes.

The haul dipped to 47-46-71 in 2022 when 424 athletes participated in 33 sports.

With the Sept 23-Oct 8 Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics on the horizon, a strong performance will help build momentum for these bigger meets.

Singapore’s fortunes at the SEA Games have often been tied to which sports are on offer, with host countries tweaking the programme to include traditional sports that they are strong in, while dropping others that they are weaker at or lack the infrastructure to support.

At the 2019 edition, the Philippines topped the standings with 149 golds when it expanded the programme on home soil to a whopping 56 sports.

That year, Singapore bagged 13 golds from figure skating, floorball, lawn bowls, sailing, sambo, short track speed skating, softball and underwater hockey, all of which were dropped for the postponed Hanoi Games in 2022.

This time, the Republic faces the same issue, with archery, bowling, canoeing and shooting – which contributed eight golds in 2022 – out of the programme, although cricket, floorball and sailing are back.

Singapore will be counting on its swimmers to make up the bulk of their medal haul in Cambodia.

The swim squad will be missing Rio Olympic champion Joseph Schooling, who has withdrawn from the Games after stating that he was not at the level to perform.

While national swimming head coach Gary Tan noted that the medal haul “could swing between 12 and 24 golds”, ST believes that, with a blend of youth and experience, the athletes should be competitive in all but the men’s distance and women’s backstroke events and claim at least 20 out of the 39 golds on offer.

To hit at least 50 golds, the slack could be picked up by athletics (four) – Shanti Pereira is in top form for the women’s 100m and 200m, while Soh Rui Yong attacks the men’s 5,000m and 10,000m double – table tennis (four), fencing (four), pencak silat (three), sailing (two) and wushu (two).

Badminton is an uncertainty as the regional powerhouses may be distracted by the Sudirman Cup – which clashes with the SEA Games – while in cue sports, Peter Gilchrist (English billiards) and Aloysius Yapp (pool) will face other top players.

Gold medals are also possible in cycling, floorball and ju-jitsu, while the men’s water polo team are also looking to reclaim gold after losing their crown in 2019.

Former national water polo vice-captain Yip Ren Kai said that 50 golds is an achievable target and believes the swimmers, fencers and floorballers will deliver.

The multiple SEA Games gold medallist, who is a keen sports observer, said: “Our swimmers (21 golds in 2022) have consistently shown they are kings of the pool at South-east Asian and even Asian level, while fencing (a record six golds in 2022) has shown good results in previous Games, so I’m quite sure they will continue on that path.

“Floorball can also contribute because Singapore is hosting the women’s world championship this year and this would be a very good way to show that the team are getting ready for that.”

Singapore will not be represented in dancesport, endurance race, jet ski, karate, obstacle race, soft tennis and weightlifting.

And its athletes are not expected to break their drought in basketball, football, sepak takraw, tennis, volleyball, wrestling – these sports have never won gold – hockey (last gold in 1993), gymnastics (2015) and traditional boat race (1993).

However, there is always room for surprises, such as when xiangqi men’s standard singles player Alvin Woo and the men’s epee team delivered historic gold medals in 2022.

At the official SEA Games flag ceremony, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said: “At every SEA Games, we will have athletes who will surprise us.

“We will have debutants who do very well, like at the last SEA Games.

“And I have no doubt that this year, we’ll see many surprises and there’ll be many heartwarming moments from our athletes.”

Former national hurdler and multiple SEA Games medallist Dipna Lim-Prasad agreed that the first-timers should not be overlooked.

But she stressed that personal breakthroughs are just as, if not more, important than the number of gold medals.

The SNOC athletes’ commission vice-chairman said: “The SEA Games is more than just the number (of gold medals). I am excited and looking forward to seeing what our athletes can do... achieving all their own personal targets would be a good Games for me.”