Photo from Shutterstock.
HARISS HARUN, 32, FOOTBALLER
Singapore’s national captain is a veteran defender and midfielder. When he was only 16 years and three months old, Hariss became the youngest football player in the S-League upon his debut with the Young Lions in 2007. In that same year, he trained for a week at FC Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy and took home the Most Valuable Player award. He then embarked on an illustrious career that saw him train with Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua before playing for the Lions XII and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
After collecting an impressive array of trophies in his seven seasons with JDT — including the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup — Hariss came home to the Singapore Premier League in 2021, joining Lion City Sailors on a three-and-a-half-year deal as team captain. Home is clearly where the heart is, as Hariss is also an ambassador for Singa Champs, a local non-profit sports organisation for youth with autism.
AMITA BERTHIER, 20, FENCER
In an alternate universe, Amita Berthier might have been a star football player for Singapore. But as her primary school didn’t offer football as a co-curricular activity, Amita took up fencing instead — and the rest is history.
The University of Notre Dame undergraduate was recently named Women’s Foil Athlete of the Year 2022 by the United States Fencing Coaches Association. As part of the Notre Dame fencing team, she won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Fencing Championships team title for two years running. In singles competition, Amita came in third in 2019 and 2021, and received a silver medal earlier this year. She was also once ranked world No. 1 Junior Foil Fencer in 2019.
Representing Singapore at the SEA Games in 2017 and 2019, the Singapore Sports School alumna took home three golds in the individual and team categories. She is also the first Singaporean to win a spot through participating in a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Though she lost to world No. 5 Lee Kiefer, at her young age and with her roaring ambition, Amita still has many more Olympics to look forward to.
TEONG TZEN WEI, 24, SWIMMER
Coming in eighth might not seem like a win, but Teong Tzen Wei’s top 10 finish in the Fina World Championships 50m butterfly final this June was a remarkable achievement – for himself and for Singapore. It marked only the third time that a Singaporean male swimmer had featured in the championship race in the last 40 years. In addition, Tzen Wei was the race’s sole Asian representative, after setting a personal best of 23.03 seconds in the prior semi-final.
At the Hanoi SEA Games earlier this year, Tzen Wei smashed the Games’ 50m freestyle record with a timing of 21.93 seconds, which is the second-fastest ever recorded by an Asian swimmer in 2022 – and the very first time that a Southeast Asian swimmer has gone under 22 seconds.
The swimmer is no stranger to major achievements, having previously won gold in the 50m butterfly and silver in the 50m freestyle at the 2019 SEA Games.
Photo of Loh Kean Yew from Here to Play issue Mar – Apr 2019, Singapore Sports Hub.
LOH KEAN YEW, 25 AND LOH KEAN HEAN, 27, BADMINTON SIBLINGS
The very first Singaporean to be named men’s singles world champion at the 2021 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships, Loh Kean Yew (pictured) was an unseeded national shuttler who secured an astounding win over world No. 14 Srikanth Kidambi – and he did it all while nursing an injured ankle. Still, he powered through and won the hearts of many Singaporeans with his humble determination.
Not to be outdone, older brother Loh Kean Hean took home the men’s doubles titles with teammate Terry Hee at the Dutch Open in 2021, at which Kean Yew dominated the men’s single category. Kean Hean also racked up a bronze medal and was named one of the top eight in the men’s doubles category, both at the 2019 SEA Games.
Since his ground-breaking feat, Kean Yew has come in the top eight at the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships, and won a bronze in the 2022 Asia Team Championships – the first Asian Team medal in Singapore’s history, and an achievement that qualified the Singapore team for the Thomas Cup.
Photo from Here to Play issue Dec 2019 – Jan 2020, Singapore Sports Hub.
NURUL SUHAILA BINTE MOHAMED SAIFUL, 27, SILAT ATHLETE
Suffice to say, bronze is not Nurul Suhaila’s favourite colour. Much to her frustration, the pencak silat practitioner had won three bronze medals at the SEA Games before finally getting her first-ever gold in the women’s Class E (65-70kg) tanding final.
Nurul has consistently been ranked among the top exponents of the martial art, having taken home gold medals in the 2022 SEA Pencak Silat Championship, the 2019 Asian Pencak Silat Championship and the 2018 World Pencak Silat Championships, all in the Class D (60-65kg) category.
While other athletes might have lamented the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on their sport, Nurul used the time off to grow and develop mentally as a person and as an athlete. It might have been just the change she needed to mature into a confident fighter.
When she’s not in training, Nurul is a successful influencer and model, putting her own modern spin on being a silat athlete with brand partnerships ranging from sporting goods retailer Adidas to luxury labels like Tissot and Pandora.
MAY OOI, 46, RETIRED SWIMMER AND RETIRED MMA FIGHTER
As a public speaker, May Ooi has a long and rich history in the sporting world to draw inspiration from, having represented Singapore in not one but two different sports.
After breaking the national schools 100m breaststroke record at the age of 12, May went on to win the 100m butterfly bronze medal at the 1991 SEA Games. The following year, she jetted off to the Barcelona Olympics at aged 16, swimming in seven different events. May then swam for Singapore at the Asian Games in 2004 and 2008, before returning in 2018 — as a national jujitsu athlete.
From 2017 onwards, she was a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter with ONE Championship, boasting an undefeated record when she finally retired in 2019. Known as ‘Mighty’ May in the ring, the sporting mentor was named team manager of Singapore’s national jujitsu team, a board member of the Chiam See Tong Sports Fund and chairperson of the Women and Sports Committee. She hopes to empower young female athletes in Singapore and show them that like her, they can defy expectations and rise up to challenges.
Photo from Here to Play issue Nov 2018 – Jan 2019, Singapore Sports Hub.
MICKY LIN, 36, RETIRED NETBALLER
Her real name is Lin Qingyi, but Micky is the affectionate nickname derived from her resemblance to a certain Disney character. Before her retirement in 2016, Micky was captain of the Singapore netball team, overseeing the team’s historic gold medal debut at the 2015 SEA Games, as well as their crowning as Asian Netball Championship winners — not once but twice. She was also part of Team Singapore throughout three World Cups and one Commonwealth Games — all while juggling a day job and, at one time, studying for a part-time Master’s degree.
The goal defender is perhaps remembered most for her unorthodox attempt to intercept a lob from a 2.06m-tall Sri Lankan opponent — by having her teammate Premila Hirubalan lift her up — during the playoffs of the 2011 Mission Foods World Netball Championship.
These days, Micky is lifting up fellow sportspeople as the first chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission, formed in 2021. With her seat on the board, she has voting rights and is set to continue contributing to Singapore’s sport scene.
Photo from Shutterstock.
THERESA GOH, 35, RETIRED PARALYMPIAN SWIMMER
Theresa Goh was Singapore’s first Paralympian swimmer at the 2004 Athens Games and there’s been no stopping her since. She was Singapore’s first world champion in the 200m individual medley at the 2006 International Paralympic Committee World Championships and a former world record holder in the 50m and 200m breaststroke, as well as a bronze medallist in the 100m breast SB4 at the 2016 Rio Games. When it comes to medals, no other Singaporean athlete at the ASEAN Para Games has her beat: Theresa is the proud recipient of 33 medals in total, of which 30 are gold.
Theresa, who has spina bifida — a condition that affects the spine — and started using a wheelchair at the age of 13, is an inspirational figure to young and old swimmers alike, who laud her coolness under pressure and her steadfast tenaciousness. Having announced her retirement in 2019, Theresa took on the role of Singapore chef de mission for the Asian Youth Para Games in Bahrain in 2021 and is an outspoken advocate for a range of social causes in Singapore.
From swimming to silat and football to netball, our athletes have done Singapore proud – not just by bringing home sporting titles but also by displaying talent, perseverance and good sportsmanship in competitions the world over.
