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SPEECH BY MR TEO CHEE HEAN, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE, AND PRESIDENT SINGAPORE NATIONAL OLYMPIC COUNCIL AT THE SINGAPORE SPORTS AWARDS 2009 ON FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2009 AT 8 PM AT THE GRAND BALLROOM, THE ORCHARD HOTEL
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports and Ministry of Transport.
Distinguished Guests, Athletes, Ladies and Gentlemen,
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1 Good evening and a warm welcome to all of you to the Singapore Sports Awards 2009.
It is always a pleasure for me to be here as the Singapore Sports Awards is the premier sports event honouring our most outstanding sportsmen and women across all sports each year.
Tonight we pay tribute to our sporting heroes and heroines for their achievements in 2008. |
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2008 will always be remembered as the year Singapore won its second Olympic Games medal.
After a long wait of 48 years, and with the support from many quarters and the additional boost from Project 0812 in particular, our long-held dream for the second Olympic Games medal became a reality.
For this we have to pay tribute to the National Women’s Table Tennis team for the sacrifices, tribulations and anguish they each put up with in order to reach the table tennis women’s team final.
I know that the team have already set their sights on London 2012, and we know now from experience, that with determination, commitment and support, our athletes can be champions.
Tonight we congratulate Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei and Sun Beibei for their silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 and as recipients of the Team of the Year (Event) 2009. |
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In our midst tonight, we have champion athletes of all ages, and some very young ones too.
These young athletes demonstrate the determination and commitment that Singapore needs to maintain our momentum in sports.
Bowler Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, our Sportswoman of the Year 2009, was only 20 years old when she was crowned champion at the AMF World Cup by defeating the reigning champion from Australia in two near-perfect straight games.
Despite the incredible pressure, Jasmine stayed the course and became the first Singaporean to win the AMF Cup.
She is a credit to her sport and to Singapore.
Congratulations to Jasmine for this great achievement. |
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The names of our bowlers appear throughout the list of Meritorious Award winners as well, a sign that the sport has great depth and breadth in Singapore: Remy Ong and Shaun Ng, Jennifer Tan and Jazreel Tan, Amanda Ng, Bernice Lim, Cherie Tan, Sabrina Lim, Eugene Low and Jason Yeong-Nathan. |
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Jazreel Tan is our Sportsgirl of the year for 2009 for the second year in a row.
Some of our bowlers have been competing internationally for more than a decade; some are relatively new to the international arena.
The good news is that they continue to raise their game, and they will be inspiring the next generation of bowlers for the years to come, so that we will have more Jazreels and Jasmines.
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Singapore’s improvements in other sports is also heartening, Sportsboy of the Year Yong Yi Xiang is from Wushu, marking the first time that an athlete from wushu has won this award.
Badminton’s Yao Lei and Fu Mingtian are recipients of the Team of the Year (Event) Award for youth.
They are unable to be here tonight because they are competing for Singapore at the Djarum Indonesia Open 2009 Super Series.
I mention this because it shows how every athlete who has won an award tonight is still in the Game, still competing, and still working to bring glory to Singapore.
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In the youth Meritorious Awards, the National Women’s Gymastics Artistic Team of Lim Heem Wei, Tabitha Tay, Nicole Tay and Sarah Ng, continue to bring recognition to Singapore.
Quah Ting Wen in swimming continues to set new national records. About a week ago at the National Swimming Championships, she smashed the national records for the 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres freestyle.
The three records that Ting Wen broke were set by herself only in March. |
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Sailing and shooting have also produced consistently good performances over the years, with a good youth development programme providing a steady flow of young talent into the sport at the highest competitive level as can be seen from the list of Meritorious Award winners.
Both sports are on the roster for the upcoming Asian Youth Games, which begin in ten days, and for the Youth Olympic Games in 2010.
The Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 is an excellent platform for our young athletes in the nine sports to test themselves against the best in Asia.
The very first Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Singapore next year, will provide our young athletes the opportunity to compete against the best of their counterparts in the world.
9) I hope that the presence and performances of the top young athletes in Asia and the world in Singapore this year and next, will inspire a whole generation of young Singaporeans to also dream of sporting greatness and strive to achieve that dream. |
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In summary, 2008 has been a good year for sports in Singapore. Singapore has come a long way since we first sent athletes to the Olympic Games in 1948.
Last year for the Beijing Olympic Games, we had more athletes qualifying than ever before in our history.
10) Overall, Singapore has much to be proud of, and I believe we can look forward to an even brighter future in international sports, thanks to the consistent support of the Ministry of Community Development Youth and Sports, The Singapore Sports Council, our sponsors, our forward looking sports policies and the positive attitude of our athletes. |
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Finally, let me thank the Organising Committee for the Singapore Sports Awards from the Singapore National Olympic Council and the Singapore Sports Council, chaired by Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, for their efforts in making tonight’s event such a success.
Our sponsors Singapore Totalisator Board/Singapore Pools Pte Ltd, Singapore Airlines, Asia Pacific Breweries and NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd must also be mentioned for their great support for sports throughout the year. |
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I congratulate all the recipients of the Singapore Sports Awards tonight, and I wish everyone an enjoyable evening. |
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Thank you. |
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