After prolonged absence, Singapore's water polo team and runner Soh Rui Yong are ready for their SEA Games comeback

SINGAPORE: For Arsenal’s 2003-04 team, it was 49 matches. For the Boston Celtics, it stretched eight championships. And for the Singapore men’s water polo team, it spanned 27 tournaments.

Twenty-seven SEA Games, 52 years, 0 losses. Then came the 2019 SEA Games.

“There was huge disappointment for sure. I think the people that were hardest on us was actually ourselves,” team captain Lee Kai Yang told CNA.

The team finished with a bronze after ending the Games with two wins, a draw and a 7-5 defeat at the hands of champions Indonesia.

“I think the biggest disappointment for me was looking at my family, my fiancee (who was) at the time my girlfriend, and knowing that those individuals sacrificed the same amount or if not more, just to let me chase this passion of mine. And then the outcome did not end in our favour," recalled Lee.

Losing hurt, but in the pain was a lesson. 

“We played in a number of competitions leading up to the SEA Games, and we were playing well. And we knew that we should have paid better than what we played. But I think that therein lies the biggest lesson in sports - the outcome is never guaranteed," he said.

Runner Soh Rui Yong knows all too well the uncertainty that comes with sport, after years of exile from the national fold.

Last month, it was announced the 31-year-old will be back to represent Singapore at the upcoming SEA Games after a successful appeal. It has been six years since Soh competed at the regional meet. He last featured at the 2017 Games in Malaysia where he won gold in the marathon.

This Games will provide a “nice closure” after several years of not being selected by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), Soh told CNA.

In January, Soh was not named in SNOC’s initial list of 517 athletes for the SEA Games. In the statement, an SNOC spokesperson said the 31-year-old's non-selection at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games (he had met the qualification timings for both) was due to his behaviour over the last few years, which SNOC found to be "unacceptable and unbecoming of a national athlete".

Then in April 2022, the council and Singapore Athletics began discussions on Soh resuming his participation in major games, a SNOC spokesperson said. 

“It's just not pleasant for this whole conversation to come up every time I am not selected ... 'Is it right, Is it wrong?' It was very messy for all parties involved, myself, SNOC, every party involved included. So it was nice to put an end to that and it’s good for Singapore sports that we can move on," said Soh.

WAITING AND WORKING

The men’s water polo team have had four years, instead of the usual two, to stew in the juices of their defeat to Indonesia. Water polo was dropped by hosts Vietnam from the last edition of the Games and this will be the team's first chance to recapture the gold since 2019.

As time ticked by, the team did not sit still. They competed in tournaments, most recently the 2023 Asian Water Polo Championships where they finished fifth.

The bulk of the 2019 team remains, and there has been a concerted effort to build a younger base of athletes to feed into the senior team.

“Given the circumstances, we really made the best out of it from a team perspective, where we are trying to build a healthy culture and a good pipeline of youth athletes,” said Lee, who was vice-captain in 2019. “Hopefully that bears fruit in the near term, if not the long term.”

Some familiar faces such as Loh Zhi Zhi have also returned to the fold. Loh had planned to call it a day after 2018 to focus on starting a family, but decided to return in 2019.

“We have some young players and definitely this was not a scene that you've seen in 2018/2017. At that point of time there were only at most 20 players training in the national side. (There’s been) some renewal and improvement of the system and processes,” he told CNA.

Regaining the SEA Games gold remains the target, Lee stressed.

“We are definitely aiming for the gold. And it's not from a point of arrogance, but really that we want to be confident of our own ability. And we will live with the results that we get.

“We are not going to have any early celebrations, or any early predictions. That's the target for sure, but we are not going to go in thinking that's a given. We are going to go there and fight for everyone.”

Given the team’s aspirations at the Asian level, the gold is a “necessary milestone”, added Loh.

A NEW SLATE

Soh has been busy too. 

Despite not being selected for the 2019 Games, he coached fellow Singaporean Gordon Lim for the marathon that year. Soh was accepted to law school in the UK in 2021, the same year he broke his own marathon national record.

This Games, he will race in the 5,000m and 10,000m events. Soh is the national record holder in both events.

“Generally, distance runners in their early 20s will compete in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m for many years and then in their 30s, they switch over to the marathon when their bodies are older and they don't quite have that speed anymore. For me, I’m doing it in reverse!” said Soh.

And there is a big difference between competing in the 5,000m and 10,000m and a marathon, he added.

“It’s a new challenge, it’s almost like starting on a clean slate. For me, personally, there's no expectation going into a 5,000 and 10,000m because it's not like I’ve won before and I’m trying to do it again.”

Competing in both events will also allow him to better integrate with the rest of the team at the Games, said Soh.

"In the marathon, you're always by yourself, sometimes it's not even in the same city," he said. "(In other track disciplines) there's the element of even though you're not doing the same event, you're in the same hotel, you get to interact together. But for the marathon, you're always kind of by yourself."

Among the high-profile incidents Soh has been involved in over the years was a dispute with teammate Ashley Liew after the 2015 SEA Games marathon event, over the latter's account of events relating to his act of sportsmanship.

This led to a defamation suit by Liew against Soh, which Soh lost and had to pay Liew damages of S$180,000 (US$135,000). Soh then appealed and lost that case as well.

During the 2017 SEA Games, Soh had a disagreement with SNOC over its regulations regarding sponsors, which prohibited Team Singapore athletes from using their names for "promotional or advertising purposes" without permission.

But last year, Soh apologised twice - in February and October - to SNOC over his past statements and disagreements with the council. He also stated his wish to "put the past behind" and race for Singapore again.

While a lot has changed, Soh is still the same person. He continues to post on social media, engages with netizens and speaks up on issues close to his heart.

During this reporter's conversation with Soh, one of the topics which came up was how some Singaporeans misconstrue being outspoken as being arrogant. 

"In Singapore culture, generally our culture is - don't stand out, don't speak up, just sit down and shut up," he said. But the culture of simply following the system does not apply in sports, Soh added.

"In sports, you actually need things to differentiate yourself from the rest in order to have that competitive advantage. You need that mindset that you are better, you need that swagger in a certain way in order to have that dominance," he said.

The same personality which would be "misunderstood" in Singapore, would be largely embraced and celebrated in countries such as the US or Jamaica, he pointed out.

LOVE FOR THE SPORT

Ultimately, a common thread binds Lee and Soh - the love for their sport. 

“I didn't start playing water polo to put ‘SEA Games gold medal’ on my resume. I really started because I happened to go to a school that had the CCA (co-curricular activity). I picked up the sport, and I got better, won matches, felt good and it progressed from there,” said Lee.

“When I was a junior in the national team, seniors taught me not just water polo, but a lot of values and life lessons. And we have become very close friends. That is the glue that is holding us together. And that is why we are still committed to train hard, to do our best at competitions.”

Lee, an accountant by trade, speaks with the introspection of a philosopher.

“What has changed in my life (after the loss at the last Games)? Nothing. I still am glad to be staying in Singapore with the privileges that I have, I am fortunate about that. If we go to this Games, and we win, fantastic, everyone's happy,” he said.

“But one week later, two days later, three days later, I'm back in the office and I have to carry on (with my life).”

For Soh, life would have remained the same whether or not he had the chance to ever represent Singapore again.

“I will still get up, I will still go for a run, I will still keep fit because I love this sport. I have done this sport long before I represented Singapore and I will continue to do it long after I represent Singapore,” he added.

At the same time, representing the country carries a "certain significance", Soh added.

"It does add a bit of motivation to do the harder workouts and to push myself a bit harder because at the SEA Games, it is not just about myself, but everyone that I represent as well."

In Cambodia next month, Lee will return to the pool, and Soh to the track.

And while the outcome - as with everything in sport - remains uncertain, what is clear is that their journeys are far from over.