Meet Team Singapore's Olympic contingent

ATHLETICS (AUG 12-21)

The first male and female Olympians to compete under the Singapore flag were both from athletics - high jumper Lloyd Valberg placed 14th at London 1948, while "Helsinki Girl" Tang Pui Wah ran the 100m and 80m hurdles in 1952.

At Mexico 1968, C Kunalan became the first, and until today is still the only Singaporean sprinter to progress from the heats of an athletics event.

His time of 10.47 seconds helped him to third place in the heats, although a national record of 10.38 was good enough for just seventh place in the quarter-finals.

This year, unheralded marathoner Neo Jie Shi proved that fairy tales do exist when she qualified for the Olympics based on her top-10 finish in an IAAF Gold Label race - the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

The New Paper's inaugural School Sports Star boys' winner Timothee Yap will be the Republic's eighth men's 100m representative at the Olympics since Kesavan Soon and Tan Eng Yoon competed at Melbourne 1956.

WHO:

• Timothee Yap - men's 100m
• Neo Jie Shi - women's marathon

BADMINTON 
(AUG 11-20)

The sport made its Olympic debut at Barcelona 1992. Singapore sent three shuttlers, but only Zarinah Abdullah and Hamid Khan made it to the second round of the women's and men's singles competition respectively.

Zarinah repeated her feat at Atlanta four years later.

But it was Ronald Susilo's captivating run to the men's singles quarter-finals at Athens 2004 that will live long in Singaporeans' memories.

He remains the only shuttler to have defeated Chinese legend and two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan at the Olympics.

Jiang Yanmei and Li Yujia made it to the same stage of the women's doubles at Beijing 2008.

Derek Wong, who made his debut at London 2012, will have the opportunity to repeat Susilo's heroics when he faces Lee Chong Wei in his last Olympics.

Liang Xiaoyu (below) will also aim to upset the odds in her Olympic debut, after posting an encouraging win over former world champion Ratchanok Intanon last October, before claiming her first senior title at the Malaysia International Challenge.

WHO:

• Derek Wong - men's singles (grouped with Malaysia's 
Lee Chong Wei and Suriname's Soren Opti)
• Liang Xiaoyu - women's singles (grouped with South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun and France's Delphine Lansac)

ROWING (AUG 6-13)

History will be made when Aisyah Saiyidah (below) hits the waters at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Copacabana, as she is the first Singaporean rower at the Olympics.

The 28-year-old, who is also the first Singaporean Malay to compete at the Olympics since Zarinah Abdullah at Atlanta 1996, is aiming to make the top 20 and the D final of the women's singles sculls event.

WHO:

• Aisyah Saiyidah - 
women's singles sculls

SAILING (AUG 8-19)

Despite being scheduled in the first Olympic programme, the races at Athens 1896 were cancelled due to severe weather conditions.

Apart from the 1904 Summer Olympics, sailing has been present in every edition of the Olympic Games.

Since the quintet of Kenneth Golding, Robert Ho, Keith Johnson, Edward Holiday and Jack Snowden sailed at Melbourne 1956, the Republic's sailors have contested every Olympics from Los Angeles 1984.

This year's field of 10 sailors is the biggest contingent Team Singapore have sent. Among them, Colin Cheng has the best Olympic credentials after finishing 15th in the men's laser category, the best Asian performer in his class at London 2012.


WHO:

• Colin Cheng - Laser
• Leonard Ong - RS:X
• Audrey Yong - RS:X
• Elizabeth Yin - Laser radial
• Jovina Choo and Amanda Ng 
- 470
• Griselda Khng and Sara Tan 
- 49er FX
• Justin Liu and Denise Lim 
- Nacra 17

SHOOTING (AUG 6-15)

Singapore's first Olympic shooter was Kok Kum Woh, who finished 58th in the men's 50m free pistol event at Rome 1960.

The Republic's shooters have featured regularly since then, but it wasn't until Beijing 2008 that Lee Wung Yew became the first Singaporean shooter to qualify for the Olympics on merit.

The three-time Olympian also achieved Singapore shooting's best result when he was tied for 20th in the men's trap shooting at Atlanta 1996.

This year, both Jasmine Ser and Teo Shun Xie have already created history by becoming the first female Singaporean shooters to qualify.

Ser will compete in the women's 10m air rifle tomorrow, which will hand out the first gold of Rio 2016.

With the new format of scores being reset for the finals, the steely 25-year-old sharpshooter has an outside chance of nailing a medal.

WHO:

• Jasmine Ser - women's 10m air rifle, women's 50m rifle 3-positions
• Teo Shun Xie - women's 10m air pistol, women's 25m air pistol

SWIMMING (AUG 6-14)

Contrary to popular belief, this is not Singapore's smallest swimming contingent at the Olympics.

At Helsinki 1952, Neo Chwee Kok was the first and only Singaporean swimmer as he competed in the men's 100m and 400m freestyle, finishing third in both heats.

Siblings Patricia (18) and Roy Chan (16), along with fellow teenager Tay Chin Joo (17), were the next swimmers to make it to the Games, in Munich 1972.

But the biggest splash was made by the diminutive Tao Li at Beijing 2008, when she became the first Singaporean swimmer to make an Olympic final, before finishing fifth in the women's 100m butterfly event.

After his bronze at the World Championships last year, Joseph Schooling could well write a new page in Singapore sports history if he can medal in the men's 100m butterfly event, Quah Zheng Wen, 19, is aiming for at least the semi-finals in the men's 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly and 200m butterfly events.

WHO:

• Joseph Schooling 
- 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly
• Quah Zheng Wen 
- 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly
• Quah Ting Wen 
- 100m butterfly

TABLE TENNIS 
(AUG 6-18)

The sport was introduced to the Olympics at Seoul 1988, and it took Singapore eight years to field their first paddler Jing Junhong at Atlanta 1996.

Since then, they have experienced a series of near misses.

Jing's brave run at Sydney 2000 halted at the semi-final stage, followed by a defeat in the bronze-medal game.

Four years later, Li Jiawei suffered the same fate and finished fourth.

But Team Singapore were not to be denied in Beijing 2008, when the women's team of Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei and Li clinched a historic silver.

In London 2012, the same trio beat South Korea to take bronze.

Feng also clinched a women's singles bronze medal during the Games, to become the Republic's most bemedalled Olympian.

This year, she achieved her best Olympic ranking as the second seed in the women's singles.

With ninth seed Yu Mengyu (below) also handed a favourable draw, hopes are high that they can achieve another two-medal haul despite Yu and Zhou Yihan making their Olympic debuts.

In the men's singles competition, three-time Olympian Gao Ning and debutant Chen Feng will be hoping to spring a surprise.

WHO:

• Chen Feng - men's singles
• Gao Ning - men's singles
• Feng Tianwei - women's singles and team
• Yu Mengyu - women's singles and team
• Zhou Yihan - women's team