Gold on their minds

TNP PICTURE: MELISSA CHUE

Four years ago, the Singapore women's table tennis team of Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu fought like lionesses and brought home a silver medal from the Beijing Olympics, only the Republic's second ever after weightlifter Tan Howe Liang's silver in 1960.

Four years later, they will re-enter the Olympic arena - this time in London - as the only team to have beaten world No. 1 China in 10 years, but also players whose forms have been patchy this year.

But they have been working against the clock to correct their weaknesses in centralised training last month, and are in the midst of finalising their preparations at the Surrey Sports Park in the UK.

The Singapore Table Tennis Association has stuck with its original two-medal target and its president Lee Bee Wah said: "Table tennis is a 'live' game, you have to be very adaptable and results depend on mental strength and your performance on the day.

"So I would say, 'don't write our players off’, I'm sure we'll give of our best."

Read more in the July 19 edition of The New Paper.