Paddlers triumph in China

The NUS Dragon Boat men’s team did the University proud by winning two races at the 2016 World Famous Universities Dragon Boat Invitational Race. The event took place in Daqing, China from 18 to 19 June.

Invited to participate in the Race for the first time, the NUS team competed in the 12-crew category across three racing distances — 200m, 500m and 2,000m. The paddlers won convincingly in the 200m competition, crossing the finishing line some six seconds before the next team. The 500m race saw a close fight between NUS and Northeast Petroleum University, with NUS’ dragon boaters reaching their goal less than a second before their rival.

Said Year 2 Arts and Social Sciences student Kenneth Soh, the team’s Vice Captain, “Faced with strong competition from the host as well as unfamiliar race conditions, which included racing in a different boat in cold weather, we are definitely proud to emerge champions for the 200m and 500m races as we have trained really hard throughout the season.” The team’s first experience in such a major overseas competition was definitely an eye opener, he added.

Members of the NUS Dragon Boat team with their coach, Mr Bryan Kieu (left) and Ms Phyllis Mok (2nd from left), Sports Manager from NUS Student Affairs

Next month’s Singapore Dragon Boat Festival and Prime Minister’s Cup will keep the paddlers busy as they continue with their training programme which focuses on the 500m and 1,000m races.