WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (20-26 Jan)
SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in the past week (20-26 January):
Women’s paddlers qualify for Tokyo Olympics
The Singapore national women’s table tennis team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, after they beat the Netherlands 3-2 in their round-of-16 clash at the World Team Qualification Tournament in Gondomar, Portugal, on Thursday (23 January).
Nine spots for the Tokyo Games were up for grabs, with the eight quarter-final teams earning automatic berths. Losing teams in the last-16 will compete in a knockout format for the final spot.
As countries that have earned a team berth will also gain two slots in the singles competitions, Singapore paddlers Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu have also qualified for the Olympics.
However, the national men’s team are out of contention, after Koen Pang, Clarence Chew and Josh Chua were beaten 2-3 by Hong Kong in the round of 32.
SPL season to kick-off on 22 February
The 2020 Singapore Premier League (SPL) football season will kick off on 22 February with the Charity Shield match between Brunei DPMM and Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
League matches will kick off on 29 February with Albirex Niigata Singapore hosting Geylang International at Jurong East Stadium, and Home United FC taking on DPMM at Bishan Stadium.
This season will see two venue changes: the Young Lions will play their home matches at Jurong West Stadium while Hougang United will return to Hougang Stadium. Last season, the two clubs had shared their home-grounds at Jalan Besar Stadium, which is about to be re-turfed.
China sends strong contingent for Singapore Open
Reigning Olympic men’s singles champion Chen Long, former men’s world No. 1 Lin Dan and current women’s world No. 1 Chen Yufei are among 42 Chinese shuttlers who have confirmed their participation for the Singapore Badminton Open from 7 to 21 April.
Chen Long, ranked world No. 5, won just one title in 2019 and will be hoping for better form and qualify to defend his gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On the other hand, Chen Yufei has already won her first title of 2020 with victory at the Malaysia Masters.
Early bird tickets for the Singapore Open are available through APACtix. For more information on the Open, visit its official website.
National Stadium open for public for upcoming periods
The National Stadium will be open to the public during two upcoming periods: from Friday (31 January) to 9 February, and from 17 to 23 February.
The public can take part in two attempts for the Singapore Book of Records: the largest number of participants in a KpopX Fitness session on 8 February, and Asia’s largest Blaster Battle on 23 February.
Those looking to understand and track their fitness levels can join the National Fitness Assessment Challenge at the open house on weekdays from 7 to 8pm and on weekends from 10am to 1pm.
Families with young children can enjoy the Family Obstacle Games and Giant Inflatables by RED-X Games #XPLORE on Saturday and Sunday. The obstacle course and giant inflatables will continue to be available from 3 to 9 February and the public are welcome to register and take up the challenge at their own pace.
Runners can look forward to the ELXR Sub-10 Challenge on 22 February. Participants who are able to complete a 2.4km run under 10 minutes will receive a complimentary T-shirt, while the best male and female runners will walk away with $250 in cash prize.
There will also be a qigong and taiji mass workout on 23 February.
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