TeamSG's Terry Hee and Jessica Tan are the newest athletes to be incorporated into the spexScholarship programme. Photo Credit : Terry and Jessica's FB Page
In its continuous effort to review and support the athletes, Sport Singapore (SportSG) has announced that the Sport Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship) programme will be welcoming another seven new athletes from four sports in its year 2022 cohort, bringing the total number of spexScholars to 77 athletes across 23 sports (click Annex A for the list of new spexScholars and their key achievements), including 17 athletes who joined the programme earlier this year. These seven athletes applied for the 2022 spexScholarship last year.
Mr Kon Yin Tong, Chairman of the spexScholarship Selection Committee and Chairman of SportSG, said, “The spexScholarship identifies, develops and optimises the performance of athletes within the high performance sport pathway, and supports their sporting aspirations. We have seen outstanding performances from several Team Singapore athletes since the beginning of this year in Major Games and international competitions, and it’s only apt that we offer these athletes the spexScholarship now to provide them an increased level of support to motivate them to achieve their performance goals, and better prepare for their upcoming competitions.”
This is the first time SportSG did a second round of assessment of spexScholars within a year. This assessment considered the dynamic international competition calendars such as major sport championships, with fresh data arising from recent competitions that allow the organisation to update an athlete’s performance trajectory.
The seven new spexScholars include Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira, who set a new national record in the 100m and 200m heats at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as well as 2022 Commonwealth Games mixed doubles gold medallists Terry Hee and Tan Wei Han, who started off the year well with their first Super 500 title in the 2022 India Open. These athletes were among the 49 nominations received by the Singapore Sport Institute (SSI) for FY2022, of which 17 were selected to join the programme earlier this year.
Team Singapore sprinter Shanti Pereira, who was formerly a spexScholar between 2016 and 2018, said, “Extremely ecstatic to be returning as this was one of the goals my coach and I set out for me – to be awarded the spexScholarship once again. We have been working really hard, finding ways to develop a better mindset, focusing on recovery, nutrition and what works best for my body, while putting in quality sessions for better performance, amidst gruelling and hectic work schedules off the track. It has been a tough seven few years trying to gain my confidence back, but I’m glad that all the hard work has paid off so far, and I’m excited for what’s to come in the next couple of years together with SSI and the spexScholarship. For other athletes who may not be doing so well now, I think it’s important to realise that ultimately, it’s your own journey and you’re the only person that can determine what you do with it. Sacrifices must be made, but as long as you focus on that and the goals you want to achieve, the results will come in due time.”
Setting very clear goals for himself while feeling excited about being the spexScholar, Team Singapore shuttler Terry Hee said, “My current goal will be 2024 Paris Olympics and leading up to it we will need to participate in many competitions in order to gain ranking points. This scholarship will enable us to participate in more competitions and perhaps overseas training to improve our level of play. I believe as long as you do well enough, your achievements will be recognised, so one thing I always tell myself is to work hard in silence, and let your success be the noise.”
17-year-old Team Singapore foil fencer Cheung Kemei said, “I am incredibly honoured and grateful to be one of the youngest spexScholars this year. The spexScholarship will definitely provide me with more support to train and compete internationally as I prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and I will do my best to make Singapore proud.”
Among the rest of the 53 spexScholars who joined prior to 2022, four athletes including Contessa Loh (Archery), Reuben Rainer Lee (Athletics), Marc Brian Louis (Athletics) and Quah Ting Wen (Swimming), had their contracts renewed from the previous cycle, while the remaining 49 athletes’ contracts are not yet due for renewal (click Annex B for list of existing spexScholars). Three athletes – Goh Choon Huat (Cycling), Tessa Neo (Shooting) and Feng Tianwei (Table Tennis) had completed their scholarship on 30 September 2022.
Related Articles
Related Topics
Recent Events & Programmes
Related Articles
Related Topics
Related Articles
View AllRelated Topics
[BlogPost 173621256014 Beyond the Finish Line: Scott Driscoll, BlogPost 173619084822 Beyond the Arena: Cheryl & Wan Xiu, BlogPost 173674993214 GetActive! Singapore 2024 Starts This Weekend, BlogPost 173587700339 Champions Behind the Scenes - Steve Chew & Ang Peng Wee, BlogPost 173408820362 Loh Kean Yew: Courtyard Prince to King of the World, BlogPost 170843989107 NSG 2024 Cricket: A Div Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) vs Raffles Institution, BlogPost 173301847816 Champions Behind the Scenes - Eugene Chua, BlogPost 173189703055 Lionesses Roar At Home To Rewrite History, BlogPost 173086728273 Pesta Sukan 2024 – A Call to Unity: Celebrating National Day through Sport, BlogPost 170848336463 NSG 2024 Cross Country: A, B & C Divisions, BlogPost 172711569511 Champions Behind the Scenes - Sng Puay Liang, BlogPost 172691923342 Champions Behind the Scenes - Lilian Chee, BlogPost 172600809048 Brief History of Pesta Sukan, BlogPost 171316266801 Team Behind The Team: Daniel Leow, The Technical Support Powering Max Maeder's Kitefoiling Triumphs, BlogPost 171884846712 Benefits of Brisk Walking: A Simple Step to Better Health, BlogPost 171576345940 Beyond the Finish Line: Jazreel Tan, BlogPost 171319972632 Beyond the Arena: Harry Lim, BlogPost 170174495264 Beyond the Finish Line: Cookie Tan, BlogPost 170154039403 "Start of a journey" as Lions take positives despite 1-3 loss to Thailand, BlogPost 170022978444 Maximilian Maeder: A Rising Star's Journey to Kite Racing Excellence, BlogPost 169756234516 So This Is What a Sold-Out Football Match Feels Like - A Young Team Nila Volunteer’s Perspective, BlogPost 169514603427 Celebrating 10 years of ActiveSG: One of Our Longest-Serving Staff, BlogPost 169257284368 Family-friendly Events and Activities to Check Out This June School Holiday!, BlogPost 80542068826 The Benefits of 60 seconds of Daily Activity, BlogPost 165261427855 NSG 2024 Canoeing: A & B Div Finals, BlogPost 167576213578 NSG 2024 Track & Field: Junior & Senior Div, BlogPost 167338296898 NSG 2024 Golf: Junior and Senior Div Finals, BlogPost 167228868705 NSG 2024 Bowling: Junior Div Finals, BlogPost 165771624850 NSG 2024 Gymnastics: Artistic Gymnastics Finals, BlogPost 168666965514 Beyond the Finish Line: Lim Tong Hai, BlogPost 165892209032 ActiveSG to Introduce New Membership and Booking Platform, MyActiveSG+, in June, BlogPost 166482134692 Celebrating 10 Years of ActiveSG: The Active Couple, BlogPost 80699737258 Never Too Old To Exercise: Here's Why Exercise Is Important For Older Adults, BlogPost 165110344506 NSG 2024 Shooting: A Div Finals, BlogPost 164745983048 NSG 2024 Netball: Senior Div Girls League 3 Preliminary Round, BlogPost 166881350253 Recognising our dedicated Team Nila volunteers: The backbone of MetaSport events, BlogPost 166901832821 Make Every Move Count, BlogPost 166900682547 Moving Together as a Family, BlogPost 166899564391 Moving More at the Workplace, BlogPost 166899010575 Rest and Recovery for Better Performance, BlogPost 165765992196 Celebrating 10 Years of ActiveSG: The Leong Brothers, BlogPost 166480987009 Lion City Sailors Win Community Shield, BlogPost 166480270261 The Kiwis Emerge Victorious in Singapore Leg of HSBC SVNS, BlogPost 165108593509 NSG 2024 Swimming: Junior Div Finals, BlogPost 166207137557 A Sneak Peek Inside Kallang Football Hub's Next-Gen Football Gym, BlogPost 165766451799 ActiveSG Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Islandwide Celebrations, BlogPost 164749641842 NSG 2024 Netball: Senior Div Girls League 3 Preliminary Round 2, BlogPost 163985727414 Beyond the Field: Exciting Sports Careers for Non-Athletes, BlogPost 164438712123 NSG 2024 Badminton: Senior Div Girls Quarter-Finals, BlogPost 164238055490 Evergreen Aleksandar Duric Still Making Headlines at 53]