Singapore water polo team's top-four target within reach
Loh is hopeful water polo team's 28-year wait will end at this month's Asiad
National water polo team captain Loh Zhi Zhi is ready to end Singapore's 28-year wait for a top-four Asian Games finish.
While the team have won gold at every South-east Asia Games since 1965, they have been found wanting against Asian heavyweights like China, Kazakhstan and Japan.
They came agonisingly close to meeting their top-four target at the last Asiad in Incheon, South Korea, but lost to the hosts 8-9 in the second preliminary-round match. South Korea eventually finished fourth.
At 28, Loh is the team's oldest and most experienced player, and was part of the squad that finished sixth in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and fifth at the 2014 Incheon Games.
He will be hoping to go one better at the Aug 18-Sept 2 Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia, and believes that the team are more than ready for the challenge.
He said: "From what we see, we're quite hopeful for top four.
"The top-three teams are professionals so they are a bit away, but four to six is always a toss-up between the teams.
"Since the coach (Dejan Milakovic) has come in over the past one and a half years, we've made a lot of progress, so we stand to do well."
In May, the team were invited to take part in the EU Nations Cup in the Czech Republic, winning against the likes of Wales and Ireland and finishing a creditable sixth out of 10 teams.
They have also engaged in friendlies with clubs around the region in recent weeks in preparation for the Asian Games.
The top-three teams are professionals so they are a bit away, but four to six is always a toss-up between the teams.Singapore water polo captain Loh Zhi Zhi on their top-four target
Loh is confident that the tune-ups have placed them in better stead heading into the Games, saying: "Some days we won, some days we lost, but they were pretty close and very competitive.
"That itself is much better than previous years already."
With almost all the players having to balance full-time work, school or national service, Loh admits that retaining players has been a challenge for the squad.
However, the team will be buoyed by the knowledge that they have kept all but two of the 13-member squad that won the SEA Games gold in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last year.
Loh himself received a boost in March when he became the first athlete to join Grab's spexBusiness programme, which is a partnership between Grab and Sport Singapore to support athletes through flexible work arrangements.
Loh, who is a business intelligence and insights analyst at the tech firm, said: "I'm very grateful that from the Grab side, my manager especially has been very supportive.
"We know the travel dates far in advance and if I need to travel, we try to work around it as well."
Milakovic's charges will take on Iran in their first Group A game on Aug 25, and Loh believes it will be a close encounter.
He said: "Iran are one of our biggest rivals (for fourth). We have faced them many times over the past few years and it's always been close, so it'll be a big game for us."
They will then face 2010 and 2014 champions Kazakhstan and South Korea for their remaining group-stage fixtures. The nine-team event also features Saudi Arabia, Japan, Hong Kong, China and hosts Indonesia in Group B.
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