2015 SEA Games: What other sports hope for

Making the country proud

Two-time silat world champion Sheik Alauddin believes that his silat athletes have the goods and desire to not only match the tally of 10 medals won in 1993, but also do even better.

Sheik (right), the chief executive of the Singapore Silat Federation, said: "The silat athletes have the mindset to win whether they are on home ground or not. They are focused on getting better results and winning more medals than before."

Singapore last hosted the SEA Games in 1993, and silat raked in a total of two gold, five silver and three bronze medals, with Mohamad Hidayat Hosni and Zakaria Yusof winning gold in the silat men over-50 to 55 kg and men over-55 to 60 kg events respectively.

"They know that they are representing their country, and they want to make Singapore proud," said Sheik.

Ser confident of golden haul

Peter Lee won the only gold in Singapore's four-medal shooting haul back at the 1993 SEA Games.

But Jasmine Ser is confident that, next year, she and the other shooters can emulate, even surpass, that.

"With the team we have now, I know that we are able to get more medals next year," said the Olympian.

The 23-year-old also believes that having the SEA Games on home ground is an opportunity for the public to see how intense the shooting events can be.

"Shooting isn't much of a spectator sport, so having the event in your own backyard will be a chance to show the spectators what shooting is really like," she said.

Despite her bold claims, Ser isn't bothered by the obvious pressure to perform.

She said: "There is definitely more pressure, but to me that is just extra motivation to win more medals for Singapore."

Bowlers not bothered by pressure

The pressure to deliver at the 2015 SEA Games will be great, but Singapore's bowlers are up for it.

Shayna Ng, the Singapore Bowling Federation's Bowler of the Year, said: "With home advantage also comes high expectations from your own crowd.

"We have a world-class bowling team. We have the determination to win and I believe that the bowlers now can meet the expectations."

In 1993, when Singapore last hosted the SEA Games, the bowlers delivered three gold, one silver and four bronze medals.

The golds were from Alice Tay (women's singles), Adelene Wee (women's Masters) and Patrick Wee, Sam Goh and Jack Wong (men's trios).

However, Ng (left) is not at all worried about matching that tally.

She said: "That will be tough to match, I admit, but I guarantee that the bowlers will give their all in training and preparation. I hope that the crowd sees that we will do our very best, no matter what."

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