Teong Tzen Wei seeks to reclaim SEA Games sprint double as Singapore Aquatics sets 20-gold target

SINGAPORE – Elbow injuries, missed Olympic qualification and being embroiled in a drug consumption case were some of the setbacks that Teong Tzen Wei had to deal with over the years, but with each debacle, the national swimmer has come back stronger.

At the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand, he aims to repeat the trick and reclaim the men’s 50m freestyle and butterfly titles he lost to teammates Jonathan Tan and Mikkel Lee respectively at the 2023 edition after winning both in 2022.

At the Singapore Aquatics’ (SAQ) SEA Games media day at OCBC Aquatic Centre on Nov 10, the 28-year-old told The Straits Times he has persisted with the sport because “there is still this kid inside me who is still excited and enjoys swimming and competing”.

He added: “My mum always tells me not many people can be paid to live a sporting lifestyle, so while you can, do it and enjoy it. I’ve been through so many things already and I’m old enough to handle wins and losses, but everyone wants to win, so I’ll go there and give it my best shot.”

One of just three Singaporean swimmers to own a Commonwealth Games medal, Teong is in fine form as he reclaimed the short-course men’s 50m butterfly Asian record in 21.93sec at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Toronto in October, and will focus on only the two 50m events at the SEA Games.

Explaining that it would be unfair for him to compete in the relays when he has not trained for the 100m events, he added that he wants to “give back and mentor the next generation of athletes”.

Teong will get the opportunity to do so in Thailand as SAQ is fielding 71 athletes with an average age of 21.8 years – 40 of whom are debutants – across swimming, open water swimming, water polo, artistic swimming and diving.

SAQ president Kenneth Goh, who is targeting at least 20 gold medals overall, pointed to the breakthroughs by respective athletes on the international stage in 2025, adding: “These milestones are a positive sign that preparations are on track and progressing well.

“Our athletes have worked hard, built momentum and are ready to give Singapore plenty to cheer for in Thailand.”

At the 2023 Games in Cambodia, Singapore won 22 gold medals in swimming and reclaimed the men’s water polo title.

In 2025, the swimmers could face stiff competition from the Philippines, which has recruited Kayla Sanchez. The 24-year-old, who has Philippine heritage, won freestyle relay silver and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics representing Canada, where her family immigrated.

There will also be a new challenge for Gan Ching Hwee, who will attempt to help the women’s 4x1,500m open water relay team win gold on top of her title defence in the women’s 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle.

National swimming coach Gary Tan admits the pressure is still on the swimmers to deliver, adding: “Our athletes are consistently training very hard, making sure they make every practice, even with the exams that they have.

“We’re very clear on the mission that we are supposed to go in there and win the medals.”

Also gunning for gold is the men’s water polo team, despite a bold move to include just two – Cayden Loh and Darren Lee – out of the 15 players who reclaimed their title in 2023. The team’s average age, which was about 30 then, has dropped to about 21.

National men’s coach Kan Aoyagi, who led the team to a historic match victory at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Singapore in July, said: “Our target is not just the SEA Games, but we want to build a winning team for the next five to 10 years and create new history with this team.”

Similarly, national women’s coach Yu Lei wants his team to “fight back for the gold” they last won in 2011.

The national artistic swimmers have also faced a long wait to win at the regional meet as the discipline was dropped after the 2017 edition, where Singapore won three gold medals.

During this time, they have not rested on their laurels as they look to establish themselves as the region’s best with new pairings and choreography amid recent rule changes, one of which requires declared difficulties before each routine.

In July, Debbie Soh and Yvette Chong finished 14th out of 36 pairs in the women’s duet free preliminary round at the WCH with a new personal best score of 222.6152.

Yvette, 17, said: “It’s more strict now with the declared difficulty, so we are focusing on movements that we are good at and are very sure we can perform well on the day. We are trying to be smart about making our efforts worth it with high-difficulty routines and a short amount of time underwater instead of vice versa.”

Soh, a 27-year-old who was involved in all three SEA Games golds in 2017, added: “I feel like I’ve been in the sport long enough to know about positive and negative pressure... and to translate negative pressure into something positive and rework the stresses in a way to help us perform.”

Meanwhile, the divers face a greater challenge to win their first SEA Games gold since 2017 as the programme has been controversially reduced to four events – the women's 10m synchronised platform, men's 1m and 3m springboard, and 3m synchronised springboard.

This means 14-year-old Ainslee Kwang, who would have been a gold-medal contender had there been a women’s individual event after a historic 13th-placed finish in the women’s 10m platform at the WCH, will take part only in the synchronised event.

Nevertheless, she was still excited about her debut at the regional meet. She said: “It’s a bit disappointing to have just one women’s event, but I’m really grateful that at least I still get to compete at the SEA Games. I aim to step on the podium, but I also want to enjoy myself, do my best and gain more experience.”