Special moments in the games

Lyo & Merly in Auckland

The end of games. Here are some of the special moments:

Singapore Primary School boy Low Wei Jie's feat of running 15km in the rain along the YOG torch route got Singaporeans talking about the games.

A girl from South Korea and another from North Korea explored the Games village together, a reminder of sport's ability to transcend boundaries.

Haiti's gusty footballers negotitated their way to a silver after losing their first game 0-9, bringing cheer to a country recovering from January's devastating earthquake.

New Zealand's Sam Shaw, the cross-country cycling athlete was 11th and heading into the last lap when one of his pedals jammed. So he picked up his bike and ran most of the 3.1km of the last lap.

Wide-eyed, shorts-wearing Liberian swimmers who had only swum in rivers - dived into a pool for the first time.

Volunteers for Youth Olympic Games. Twenty-one members of the YOG organising committee workforce were hit by food poisoning over the weekend. But they continued with their duties despite the discomfort.

my mouse pad.. reminds me of the wonderful games. Other than sport, the Youth Olympic Games had a culture and education component, where athletes participate and learn more from one another.

The YOG has deepened our sports culture. I believe more youths will take up sports in the future.

Goodbye Singapore, and see you at Nanjing 2014.

The boxer from Nauru

DJ Maaki, most definitely the under-dog in the boxing competition at the “Youth Olympics” which are being held in Singapore, has shown the world that through courage and determination results can still be achieved as he makes it through to the finals.

I marvel at the efforts of a boy named Dj Maaki from the nation of Nauru, a tiny island of Nauru in the South Pacific Ocean, with a population of 14,000. That's less than the number of volunteers at the Youth Olympic closing ceremony.

This young boxer won a silver medal to do his country proud. Per capita, Nauru is the best performer at the Games.

Singapore did well too (2 slivers and 5 bronze) given our small size in population.

YOG football: Singapore beat Montenegro 4 - 1 and wins the bronze

The candid photo taking after scoring the 4th goal.
Photo: SPH-SYOGOC/Seyu Tzyy Wei

The Singapore boys had won the match and clinched the well deserved bronze medal in the YOG football match. The match was telecast live at 6 pm local time. This will go down as one of the most amazing match for Singapore football.

Singapore scored the 1st goal in the 6 minutes, however the joy was shortlived, 2 minutes later, Singapore captain suffered a bad cut on his face from the elbow of a Montenegro player, he had to be replaced. And within 2 minutes Montenegro equalised to make it 1-1.

Singapore's captain, Jeffrey Lightfoot bleeds profusely, after colliding with Montenegro's Lazar Lalosevic (right in white).
The match was won in blood, sweat and tears.
Photo: SPH-SYOGOC/Seyu Tzyy Wei

The match ended 1-1 at half time.

In the second half Singapore scored 3 goals to win the match. Hanafi scored the 2nd goal from a cross, a penalty taken by Midfielder Ammirul Mazlan made it 3-1. Hanafi's scored again in the 65th-minute freekick into the Montenegro net to make it 4-1.

The team line up before the match against Zimbabwe. Such colourful boots.

A great day indeed. This young football team has great potential in the future, I guess we will be following the team closely. Today we are so proud of them.


Bolivia won the gold medal after thrashing Haiti 5-0 in the final match. The Bolivians played with 10 men after Rodrigo Mejido was given a red card in the first half for throwing an elbow.

Isabelle Li - The Hope of Singapore

August 23, 2010 — Isabelle Li (16 years old on Saturday) won Singapore’s second silver medal of the Youth Olympic Games when she was beaten in straight sets by China’s Gu Yuting in the final of the women’s table tennis singles competition.

Isabelle lost 11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. Singapore now have two silvers and three bronze medals in the Games.

The result was not as one-sided as it looked. Isabelle, one of Singapore's most promising and talented young athletes, made the top-seeded Chinese sweat for her victory, especially in the decisive fourth set.

Isabelle is Singapore born and bred, having picked up the sport when she was in Primary 3.

She was spotted early by national team and has received generous funding from the Singapore Sports council and other associations to take part in international tournaments all over the world to boost her exposure and experience.

Many will remember the harsh criticism surrounding the Team Singapore's silver medal-winning women's table tennis team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as all of them were born in China but later took up Singapore citizenship. There were doubts in some corners whether a Singapore born athlete could dominate in table tennis on an international level, but Isabelle's rise to prominence has surely silenced those detractors.

Isabelle Li is the hope of Singapore table tennis.

Update: Li is in action today (4:50pm) Mixed Double vs Egypt Meshref.

Ended at 5:15pm, she takes the game 11-4, 11-8, 11-3. The Egypt paddler is not her match.

YOG Soccer Singapore 0 Haiti 2

The matched ended with Haiti winning the game. Haiti now faces Bolivia in the finals.

A Singapore player was send off for a tackle in the last minute and Haiti scored from the penatly spot. 3 minutes before half time, Haiti scored to lead 1-0, a school mistake from goalkeeper Fashah Rosedin. Anyway, all the players are 15 years old, this will be part of a learning curve for their future football career.

The Singapore boys played well, however it was just not their day. I think Singapore was the better team. The boys will now play for a bronze medal. Hopefully, they can pick themselves up and give their best shot in the final game, afterall there is a medal to play for.

Congratulation to Haiti, my earlier prediction was wrong. This win will bring happiness to their country.

Singapore Youth Olympic Singapore Vs Haiti Football

The tickets are snapped up pretty fast, and it will be a full house tomorrow. Lucky there will be a live telecast for the semi-final match Singapore vs Haiti, at 8:40pm Singapore time.

Bolivia thrashed Haiti 9-0 in the Youth Olympic Games boys' football tournament at Jalan Besar Stadium on 16 Aug. The local fans cheered for the Haiti boys when they came back to beat Vanuatu 2-1 in their last group match.

Hit by a 7-magnitude earthquake in January this year, which killed an estimated 300,000 people, made 1.6 million people homeless and left their country's capital Port au Prince, in ruins, Haiti were a late replacement for Cuba the YOG football competition. Singapore welcomes the brave Haiti athletes, they hope to rebuild their country by giving a good performance and bring smiles to their countrymen. Results doesn't matter, by travelling all the way here (hard to get funding) and taking part is already an amazing achievement.

My prediction is a win for Singapore.

Singapore beat Montenegro 3-2

Photo: SPH-SYOGOC/Seyu Tzyy Wei

YOG football: Singapore beat Montenegro 3-2
Thu, Aug 19, 2010

Was watching the live telecast earlier, again Singapore boys scored an early goal, played an aggressive match with great spirit & passion. The European players are much bigger than them, but it terms of skill, passing and speed we are certainly better.

Singapore young soccer players put up a superb performance in front of a sold-out crowd to beat Montenegro, 3-2.

The Singapore cubs struck first with an early goal, in 3 mins. This was followed by an equaliser from Montenegro. Shortly, Montenegro went up 2-1 from a penalty kick.

Singapore then equalised before the half time.

Playing in front of a home crowd, the cubs put up a spirited performance, frustrating the Montenegro players many a times.

In the second half, one of the Montenegro players punched a member of the Singaporean team following a tumble. The referee saw that and immediately awarded the player a red card, ejecting him from the field and leaving Montenegro with just 10 players.

Using their advantage, Singapore went on to score a third goad. With Brandon Koh taking Singapore into the lead 3-2. The YOG soccer match is played 80 mins, rather than 90 mins.

This is the hope of Singapore soccer. Look forward for the next match. We are now in the semi finals!

Great day at the pool

Mika-Jah Teah (third from top) and Sima Weah (bottom) in the boys' 50m freestyle heats. -- PHOTO: SPH-SYOGOC/MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

Following the earlier post on the YOG Lesotho swimmer, here is another interesting article, it is amazing for these 2 Liberians.

LIBERIANS Sima Weah and Mika-Jah Teah, who usually train in a river, experienced a swimming pool for the first time yesterday when they competed at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

The pair took part in the boys' 50m freestyle heats and finished 24 seconds behind the fastest qualifiers.

Just being here is an achievement, with the duo having boarded their first airplane for a 12,000km trip that took them from Liberia to Ghana, then through Kenya and Dubai to Singapore.

'We swim in the open river,' said Mika-Jah. 'This is my first time in a pool.'

Liberia, wracked for years by civil war that ruined infrastructure and left the economy in tatters, has competed in 10 Summer Olympics but only in athletics and boxing.

Sima and Mika-Jah are the first athletes to represent their country internationally in swimming.

The 17-year-olds train in the Rockspring Valley River near Liberia's capital Monrovia, where they often have to deal with aquatic life such as crabs and fish - which they catch as they swim.

Sima was impressed but not overawed when he first saw the facilities at the Singapore Sports School.

'I felt encouraged,' he said. 'I was not scared. There was no fear.

'I was hoping to win, but I am just happy that I came here with my friends.'

Their coach Steven Weah, Sima's uncle, is a Fina-certified coach who first introduced his nephew to the sport.

'We don't even have a pool in Liberia,' he said. 'I am proud of them because this is their first appearance in international competition.'

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

18 Aug

Rainer Ng has created Singapore sporting history by winning the Republic's first swimming medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

The 18-year-old finished second in the Boys' 50m backstroke final at the Singapore Sports School this evening in 26.45sec, just 0.09sec slower than winner Christian Homer of Trinidad and Tobago (26.36sec).

Singapore has now won three medals at the YOG. Prior to Rainer's win, the Republic won already garnered bronzes in taekwondo from Nurual Shafinas Abdul Rahman and Daryl Tan.

Singapore's 1st medal

Singapore had won the first YOG medal today, a bronze.

Taekwondo exponent Daryl Tan created Singapore sporting history this afternoon by becoming the Republic's first medal-winner at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The 17-year-old Raffles Institution (Junior College) student, clinched the bronze medal in the Boys 55kg competition after winning his quarter-final bout.

Here is a clip on the birth of the YOG medal. Setsuko FUKUZAWA from Japan is the grand prize winner of the Medal Design Competition. Her project has been chosen by the IOC jury as the winning medal design for the first ever Youth Olympic Games

Olympic Spirit from Lesotho Swimmer

LESOTHO'S Nts'Eke Setho, 17, got one of the biggest cheers at the Singapore Sports School yesterday. Not because he finished first in his 100m breaststroke heat. It was because he finished. He came in 18 sec after his nearest rival.

'I tried my best,' he said, with every reason for pride. He has no coach. Nor a place to train in the last three months. It is winter at home, and the 25 m pool at his swim club is unheated. Still, he is undaunted.

Thursday's 50m breast is his pet event. 'I want to show what I can do'.

This is the spirit of an athlete, a real champion will always give his best.

picture taken by ST Chan U-Gene

Singapore Youth Soccer Team

Singapore made a winning start in the Youth Olympic Games football tournament when they defeated Zimbabwe 3-1 in their opening Group D match at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday. Watch this stunning strike from Singapore's Ammirul Mazlan, who fires a powerful strike from 20 metres to score after 12 seconds from kick-off.

The official match can be viewed on youtube in HD (Singapore 2010 Football - Men's preliminaries - Singapore Vs Zimbabwe)



Singapore will next play Montenegro on August 19.

15 Aug
Japanese triathlete Yuka Sato created Olympic history this morning when she became the first athlete to win a gold medal at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010

The journey began in ancient Olympia, Greece, where the Olympic Flame was lit, before travelling to the cities of Berlin, Dakar, Mexico City, Auckland, Seoul and finally to all the community districts in Singapore. Today, the Youth Olympic Games will officially begin, past midnight here in Singapore. The opening ceremony will be shown on TV at local time 7:45pm.

For those who are interested to know how their young athletes fair in the games, you can check the medals tally on the link provided. Games will be from Saturday and run through to Aug. 26, will feature about 3,600 competitors aged 14 to 18 from 204 countries competing in the same 26 sports on the current Summer Olympics program.

Medal Tally here:
Your country's Medals

This is not the official medal tally table, there will probably be one on singapore2010.sg.

For the latest news, the official site is
www.singapore2010.sg.

Google Singapore!

Google designed a picture logo today

YOG opening ceremony at the floating platform, facing the Marina Bay Sands.. the stage is now ready

How the stage looks, this year national day parade will be held at the Padang

9 Aug is our national day, the 45th birthday.. as usual will be catching the live telecast on TV in the evening.

At the moment, the Olympic flame relay is going around Singapore... as reported on TV, we see groups of people running all over the place. An exciting week indeed, all the attention will be on us in the next few weeks, this is our moment. The YOG opening cermony will be held on 14 Aug. A total of 7,000 performers will be featured in the 110-minute show.

We do have our sense of humour... someone reminded us of another important festival: "The Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival starts Tuesday! Looking forward to Getai*!"

Hungry Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese festival which falls in the seventh lunar month, where burning of hell notes*, open field singing and performance will be all over our island everynight for the whole month.

Excitement is all over the place and we can feel it in the air :)


*Getai - Are performances held to appease roaming spirits. But the glitzy al fresco events also entertain spectators and are a hallmark of the festival.

* Burning of hell notes - These paper offerings when burnt, are believed to appease the spirits who "receive" them.


pictures from Singapore2010.sg

A Girl's Hope

A commercial currently shown on Singapore TV on the coming YOG. A meaningful clip.

Never deprive anyone of hope.
If may be all they have.

Singapore 2010 Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame

ANCIENT OLYMPIA - THE first-ever Youth Olympic Flame was lit here on Friday, where the Olympic Games first began.



An actress playing the part of a High Priestess focused the sun's rays on a torch to light it, and then handed it over to a Greek athlete.

The flame was then passed on to Singapore Youth Olympic Games athletes Amanda Lim and Silas Abdul Razak, and eventually to YOG organising committee chairman Ng Ser Miang.

He raised it proudly before a gathered audience of about 200, which included Singapore Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan.

Calling it a 'new beginning for the Olympic movement', International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the YOG will serve as a gateway for youth to improve their performance on the field, and in life.

'By combining sport, education and culture in global forum, the YOG will give the world's best young athletes a chance to compete, learn and share experiences with other young people.'

Ng said: 'This place is so magical, it's where the Ancient Olympics began, where the modern Olympics were revived, and now the beginning of the YOG.'

The flame will travel to Berlin, Dakar, Mexico City, Auckland and Seoul over the next week and arrive in Singapore on August 5.

This will be followed by islandwide torch relay before the opening ceremony on August 14 at the Marina Bay Floating Platform.

About 3,600 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees will take part, and the Games will end on August 26.

It was conceived by Rogge in 2007 as a way to bring youth spending too much time on television and the Internet back to sport.

Hellenic Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos said: 'Getting accustomed to the values and ideals of Olympism, the young people will be able to adopt new values, especially in an era when the fundamental principles are in crisis. (Source ST: Leonard)



After journeying to the five cities, the Youth Olympic Flame will arrive in Singapore for a 6-day traditional torch relay run. The journey of the flame in Singapore will be from 7-13 August.

Stay tune for more YOG updates :)

After World Cup...the next major event

Almost a week after World Cup, after the heady excitement, normal life now beckons.

The next BIG sporting event to look forward to will be the Youth Olympic Games to be held in less than a month on 14 Aug. The YOG will feature 26 sports, forming a total of 31 disciplines. Here's the official YOG music video "Everyone".

The opening ceremony will be telecast live in most countries.

Coming Singapore Youth Olympic Games CO$T

mascots with our dear ministers...

Cost of Youth games goes up three-fold

An extra $265 million needed to meet the cost will be borne by MCYS and Ministry of Finance. (taxpayers' money)

I read this news on our local papers today, 38 days before the game starts, the cost went up 3 times! I am flabbergasted with the news report of how there seems to be a total lack of financial discipline and control of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sport. $387million to chase this vain glory called YOG is absurd and stupid. Big sporting nation don't even intend to send their bright junior to the event. For readers who had been following my blog, I made a few posts on the upcoming YOG with excitement, but now....

Lyo & Merly post

Lyo & Merly at Orchard Road

The budget breakdown (selected areas) source from TODAY

Revised specification, scale and scope:

* $97 million: Technology, including $16 million for providing "live" broadcasts in 18 of the 26 sports.

* $76 million: Sports and venues, mainly for upgrading works like floodlights and warm-up halls.

* $44 million: Logistics and transport, such as warehousing, supply chain, catering and cleaning costs which increased after organisers upped the volunteers from 7,000 to 20,000.
(volunteers are not paid, they are given event T-shirt, meals and transport)

* $18 million: Security, including for screening, equipment. (COOL)

* $12 million: To engage Singaporeans. (WOW)

* $7 million: Cost to organise the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame. (Flying the flame lighting in Olympia, Greece on July 23 before arriving via Berlin, Dakar, Mexico City, Auckland and Seoul, with a celebration involving President SR Nathan, followed by a 6 days torch relay islandwide involving 2,400 torchbearers, torchbearers not paid)




the famous JJ LIN... YOU ARE THE ONE SINGAPORE

Oh Yeah Oh Yeah Oh Yeah Hey! Oh Yeah Oh Yeah Hooooh... You Are The One Singaporeans.. Please Be Prepare To Pay Hoh!

Singapore helping to repair Jamaica’s stadium in exchange for marketing for YOG. This is a stunning report in April which was not reported in Singapore.

Jamaica Observer on 25 April 10
Jamaica Observer


Recently received a couple of emails and feedbacks from readers on my blog, they enjoyed the posts and find it interesting. The character Hedgehog was used as a study Mascot in one of the elementary school in South Korea in May this year, when I agreed to let a teacher use my character to motivate her students in their coming exams (for non-commercial purposes). Cheers!

Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010

2 years ago on 21 Feb, I was at the scene waiting for the announcement. I still remember clearly how excited everyone was when we were awarded to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. Here is a clip, on that amazing day at the Padang.



Looking forward for the games this year! Singapore will be hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August 2010.

The Official Games Page!
www.singapore2010.sg