SNOC confident Singapore won't take another 48 years to win an Olympic medal

By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 18 August 2008 1813 hrs

BEIJING : After achieving a silver medal at the Beijing Games, Singapore sports officials believe it will not take another 48 years for Singapore to win an Olympic medal.

The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) said it is confident in churning out consistent medal winning performances in future.

One of the council's immediate tasks after the 2008 Games is to conduct an assessment of Team Singapore's performance in Beijing.

The council will study what had worked well and what went wrong. But more importantly, it will try to replicate the success and aim for higher aspirations.

Team Singapore's women table tennis players won the silver medal at the Olympics on Sunday.

Ng Ser Miang, International Olympic Council Member, said: "It was just a fantastic feeling. (I'm) feeling very proud to be a Singaporean, knowing that our athletes have done their very best and won us a silver medal after 48 years."

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the president of SNOC, said: "The whole crowd was cheering them on, including our own supporters here in the stadium (in Beijing), and my heart swelled... We've waited so long for Singapore athletes to be able to get a medal in the Olympic Games."

And for Team Singapore's Chef-de-Mission, it's a big relief. Dr Tan Eng Liang, Chef-de-Mission of Team Singapore, said: "I was CDM (Chef-de-Mission) for the Busan Asian Games. We also had the highest number of gold medals when I was CDM for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

"We also (did well in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in) Manchester in terms of gold medals. So next time, if they want to achieve something, they better invite me."

Top sports officials said Singapore's silver medal performance in this year's Beijing Olympics will spur and inspire future Olympians.

The system is in place to train and nurture anyone with potential. Athletes have four years to prepare for the 2012 London Olympic Games. And now is the time to train talented athletes with determination to succeed at the highest level.

Article courtesy of Channel News Asia.