26
June
2015
|
20:56
Asia/Singapore

Students, alumni shine at SEA Games

Some 60 NUS students and alumni did the nation proud by garnering more than 30 medals at the 28th SEA Games, held from 5 to 16 June, in Singapore. The NUS athletes participated in a host of sporting events which included canoeing, fencing, floorball, shooting, water polo, men's gymnastics, netball and wushu, among many others.

Science student Sharifah Badriyah was a member of the triumphant women's floorball team, with the sport making its inaugural appearance in this year's SEA Games. Other players included School of Computing student Gracia Sengutuvan and alumna Laura Tan, Suhaidah Mohd Yusof and Wynne Tang. The women's floorball team entered the competition as favourites to win the gold, and deliver they did.

Sharifah, who had been training for up to four hours each day since last November, was particularly grateful for the overwhelming support and encouragement of the spectators. She said: "It was an amazing experience to be able to achieve gold in front of the home crowd this SEA Games.

Engineering undergraduate Mervyn Toh is no stranger to the SEA Games, having picked up a silver medal for kayaking in 2013. This year, he struck gold for the K1 200m event, and rowed to a silver medal finish for the two-man K2 200m event. Mervyn is satisfied with the outcome, saying that it "motivates me to do better next time.

The sportsman, who fell in love with kayaking in secondary school, trains up to twice a day, usually 10 to 11 times a week. Mervyn has now set his sights on the Canoe Sprint World Championships in August and the Asian Canoeing Championships in October. Other NUS canoeists who won medals included Science students Tan Chin Chuen and Lucas Teo, as well as alumna Annabelle Ng and Geraldine Lee.

sea games 2015-2

Mervyn powering past his competitors to win gold in the Men's K1 200m final (Photo: Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee/Action Images via Reuters)

Business student Lee Tze Yuan took up wushu at the age of 14. Even though he obtained two bronze medals at the last SEA Games, the gold he achieved for taijiquan this year is special. He elaborated: "This medal win is especially emotional because I get to fly our flag high on home ground. Not many athletes have the opportunity to do that in their entire sporting career, so I'm immensely grateful for the chance to do that. Together with Engineering student Sin Min Li and incoming Law student Yong Yi Xiang, the trio won two golds and one team silver.

Tze Yuan will be taking a break from wushu as he embarks on NUS Overseas Colleges programme in Silicon Valley for a year. However, he hastened to add that "it's not a goodbye but see you later as he has no intention of retiring from the sport just yet.

sea games 2015-3

Tze Yuan leaping his way to victory during the Men's Optional Taijiquan (Photo: Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee/Action Images via Reuters)

The men's water polo team continued its indomitable streak, bringing home the gold medal for the 26th consecutive time. Contributing to this great feat were incoming Engineering student Ang An Jun, Engineering undergraduate Chiam Kunyang, Law student Koh Jian Ying, as well as alumni Marcus Goh, Lin Diyang and Nigel Tay. The women's water polo team, which included Science student Angeline Teo, Engineering student Gina Koh, Medicine student Shauna Christine Sim and alumna Low Seet Teng, was rewarded with a silver.

Congratulations to all our NUS athletes! Find out more on the list of participants and medal tally here.