Story by Dawn Yip
St James Power Station, Thursday, January 31, 2008 – As part of the post-SEA Games celebrations, 21 Team Singapore athletes were named as Singapore Sports Idol 2007. The two-month long campaign started in September 2007, and saw some 400 athletes vying for the title. Over 150,000 votes were received via SMS and the Team Singapore website.
The 21 Singapore Sports Idols are:
MALE ATHLETES
Bryan Tay (swimming)
Jovin Tan (sailing – Singapore Disability Sports Council)
Kendrick Lee (badminton)
Kevin Chiak (bodybuilding)
Lawrence Khong (equestrian)
Lionel Lewis (football)
Mohd Asadullah (silat)
Mok Ying Ren (triathlon)
Remy Ong (bowling)
Roy Tay (sailing)
FEMALE ATHLETES
Alexandria Wong (ice-skating)
Deborah Ong (sailing)
Jazreel Tan (bowling)
Li Jiawei (table tennis)
Pearline Chan (netball)
Purba Balpreet Kaur (athletics)
Sarah Ng (gymnastics)
Tao Yijin (wushu)
Theresa Goh (swimming – Singapore Disability Sports Council)
Vanessa Poo Jill (badminton)
Yip Pin Xiu (swimming – Singapore Disability Sports Council)
Asked how she felt to have been voted in as a Singapore Sports Idol, 14-year-old Alexandria Wong told Red Sports that she felt "very happy and very honoured". The Methodist Girls’ School student knew that the Singapore Ice-Skating Association had nominated her for the campaign. "Then I went to Hong Kong for a week and when I came back, I found myself in the top three." She had her family and friends to thank for that, as well as members of the public who voted for her.
Another Singapore Sports Idol was 16-year-old Sarah Ng, a gymnast, SEA Games gold medallist, and student at Hwa Chong Institute. When asked what she would like to say to the Singaporean public, she replied without hesitation, “Allow your kids to join gymnastics!”
The Team Singapore Sports Idol contest is held biennially and aims to raise awareness of Team Singapore, and rally Singaporeans to support them at major games.
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