6 MEDALS, BUT NOT ENOUGH

As tchoukball rivals close gaps, Singapore look to technology and bigger talent pool

- Melvyn Teoh

With a haul of one gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the July 19-21 Asia-Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships in Malaysia, Singapore's age-group teams continued to garner creditable results abroad.

However, the sport's national body is looking to forge further ahead.

While Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS) president Delane Lim believes the teams did well in the face of tougher competition at the Educity Sports Complex in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, he is seeking to raise the bar by employing technology and boosting the talent pipeline.

He said: "All the games this time round are very close. At the regional level, everyone's standards have gone up, which means we also have to raise our levels or be better in our coaching technology."

He added that TBAS is looking at acquiring ball-firing machines, similar to those used in football and tennis, to help the teams improve further. Such machines can launch balls at different speeds and trajectories to sharpen players' reaction and control.

"We are studying this to be part of our training to help our players defend better," said Lim.