Asian Games 2026: Swimsuits designed by captain reflect strength of women’s water polo team

At the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, the Singapore women's water polo team wore competition swimsuits designed by captain Abielle Yeo. Photo: SpexSG/Jeremy Lee

For the most part, women’s water polo captain Abielle Yeo is usually matter-of-fact and calm during post-match reflections. But the 28-year-old cut an emotional figure after Singapore’s final match of the 2026 Asian Games on 24 Sep as she elaborated on a topic seemingly unrelated to her team’s performance in the pool: their competition swimsuits.

Women's water polo captain Abielle Yeo took inspiration from the Vanda Miss Joaquim when designing her team's swimsuits for the 2026 Asian Games. Photo: SpexSG/Jeremy Lee

These swimsuits, which are black with prints of purple orchids laid out diagonally across each suit, were designed by Yeo herself. It is the third swimsuit that she has designed, with the first being the team’s 2024 World Aquatics Championships suit.

Last year’s competition suit, which the team sported at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore and SEA Games in Thailand, featured a lion and had a dark red and black colour scheme.

This year’s design, Yeo explained, was inspired by Singapore’s national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim.

The Singapore women's water polo team concluded their Asian Games campaign on 24 Sep. Photo: SpexSG/Jeremy Lee

“Previously, we went for a fiercer look. This year, I wanted to show the girl power and our feminine side, being the women that we are. The balancing act that we do between being working people, students and some of us planning our lives … a lot of us in the history of women’s water polo have put our lives on hold (for our sport),” said Yeo, tearing up as she spoke.

“That’s something that I really wanted to portray – that women, we have a lot on our plate but we still give it our all. And I’m very proud of the girls, and I hope that every suit I design gives my team strength as well.”

Teammate Heather Lee, Singapore’s top scorer at these Games with 12 goals, said Yeo would seek the team’s feedback on her designs. “We’ll just give small feedback, like on colour. Overall, it’s great; it’s very rare and special for someone in the team to be designing the suit. We’ve never really had such a vibrant suit, so this is a really refreshing change for us,” said the 26-year-old driver, who resonates with the female empowerment theme of the suit.

Heather Lee is Singapore's top scorer at the 2026 Asian Games. Photo: SpexSG/Jeremy Lee

“Women in sports is up and coming and it’s a topic to be discussed further and we have much more to show as a team, so I’m looking forward to the future.”

Yeo, who has dreams of starting her own fashion label, led a squad of 15 in Nagoya. The women’s water polo team, comprising 10 debutants, concluded their outing with a sixth-placed finish after a 9-12 loss to Thailand at the Nagoya General Gymnasium’s Rainbow Pool on 24 Sep.

At the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, captain Abielle Yeo is leading a team of 15, of which 10 are debutants. Photo: SpexSG/Jeremy Lee

“We fought the hardest that we could today, and it’s unfortunate that the scoreline got bigger along the way. But this team has a lot of potential and I’m very proud of what we’ve done,” said Yeo, who was in the squad that finished fourth at the previous Asiad.

“We didn’t get the result that we wanted but that being said, there were some tactical positives. (The team) played really fearlessly and for some of them, it didn’t matter that it was their first game. We’ll be building their confidence moving forward as well and I’m excited to see what they can bring in the coming years.”

The 20th Asian Games are held in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.