SINGAPORE – Minister, Olympian and now, an honorary fifth-dan black belt holder.
Ex-Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) vice-president, Dr Tan Eng Liang, added another title to his illustrious list of achievements in an extraordinary career which has taken him from an Olympic pool to the Parliament House. He was conferred the taekwondo honour at a ceremony on Tuesday.
The fifth dan is the highest honour bestowed by the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF). Honorary black belts are awarded to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the promotion of taekwondo in Singapore.
Other notable honorary black belt holders include former president Tony Tan Keng Yam (4th dan) and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean (4th dan).
Dr Tan Eng Liang, who represented Singapore in water polo at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, later became Senior Minister of State for Finance from 1979 to 1980. He was also chairman of the Singapore Sports Council, now known as Sport Singapore, from 1975 to 1991.
The veteran sports administrator helmed 12 major Games as chef de mission, starting from the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. During his stint as SNOC vice-president, he also assumed interim charge of the STF following their suspension by SNOC and the sport’s world governing body, World Taekwondo (WT), in 2019.
The STF said: “With the belief that the journey is as important, if not more important than the solutions, Dr Tan offered the time and space for the federation to reflect, adjust and improve its policies, processes and mode of operation.”
Having implemented recommendations from WT, Tan played a critical role in directing STF to become a more “focused and determined” governing body. He subsequently handed over the leadership of STF to a new management team, who have since seen Singapore’s athletes achieve in major tournaments, including a respectable haul of five medals at the 2023 SEA Games.
Membership to WT and SNOC has also been restored.
The STF added in its tribute to him, saying: “He is truly an icon and a giant in our midst.
“Congratulations Dr Tan. You are our Champion.”
