More than 300 athletes provisionally selected to represent Singapore at 2026 Asian Games
Defending Asian Games champions Shanti Pereira and Ryan Lo are among those selected, along with Loh Kean Yew and the Quah siblings.
Singapore sprinter Shanti Pereira celebrating her 200m win at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct 2, 2023. (Photo: SportSG/Bryan Foo)
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SINGAPORE: A total of 304 athletes across 27 sports have been provisionally selected to represent Singapore at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.
In a media release issued on Friday (Jun 26), the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) said it had met the day before to consider additional nominations submitted by the National Sports Associations (NSAs).
Following its review, the committee approved the selection of 48 athletes from 12 sports.
"Among the approved athletes, nine had met the Asian Games qualification standards set by the organisers, while 39 competed in sports that do not have qualification standards," said SNOC, adding that both groups satisfied selection benchmarks by its appeals committee.
They will join an earlier batch of athletes and teams, announced on Jun 2, that will represent Singapore at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which will be held from Sep 19 to Oct 4.
Of the earlier batch, the council had said: "There were 115 athletes who had met the Asian Games’ qualification set by the organisers, and 141 athletes who did not have to - both group of athletes met and satisfy the SNOC Selection Committee’s benchmarks."
Reigning 200m Asian Games gold medallist Shanti Pereira and sailor Ryan Lo will defend their titles, while Loh Kean Yew, who over the weekend finished runner-up at the Singapore Badminton Open, and teammate Yeo Jia Min have been included.
Swimmers Quah Zheng Wen, Quah Ting Wen and Quah Jing Wen have also been selected as is rising teenager Julia Yeo, who made waves at the SEA Games last December and is in line for her debut at the continental showpiece.
However, current world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Max Maeder will not be defending his Asian Games gold medal in Japan, as kitefoiling is not on the programme.
Marathoner Soh Rui Yong is also absent from the list, while the men's and women's Under-22 football teams have not been included.
The Football Association of Singapore said in February that the Young Lions and Lionesses will not be represented in Japan, following the implementation of a qualification criteria by Asian Games organisers that has been validated by the AFC and the Olympic Council of Asia.
That football tournament is an age-group competition, and Singapore's omission does not affect the Lions' participation in the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, for which they have already qualified.
In 2023, in response to queries from CNA on Soh's exclusion from the Hangzhou Games line-up, SNOC said its appeals committee had considered Singapore Athletics’ nomination for his participation and decided not to select him.
It then cited reasons such as failing to "honour commitments which he had provided to the SNOC, including on occasions following his participation at the Cambodia 2023 SEA Games" and noted his "disparaging and derisive remarks about others in the public domain".
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On the 20th edition of the Asian Games, SNOC said it "presents an opportunity for Team Singapore to compete against Asia’s best on one of the continent’s premier sporting stages".
Ahead of the additional round of nominations, SNOC had said that some athletes and teams remained "under consideration" as they worked towards meeting the required benchmarks.
Some NSAs were also awaiting the results of matches that had just missed the nomination deadline before submitting appeals through the established process.
SNOC had earlier said that NSAs intending to appeal for athletes not selected in the first phase had to do so through the established appeals process.
The final contingent for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games will be confirmed and announced closer to the quadrennial event, following the conclusion of the entry-by-name process set by Games organisers.
Team Singapore finished with 16 medals - three golds, six silvers and seven bronzes - at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
