STTA to groom local-born players for 2015 SEA Games

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The Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) says it is aiming to groom local-born paddlers to lead the country when it hosts the 2015 SEA Games.

But the paddlers have to prove themselves first in earlier events, including this year's edition of the SEA Games to be held in Myanmar.

The STTA also has high hopes for two of them to represent Singapore at the 2016 Olympics.

Debutant Clarence Chew and Isabelle Li, who is taking part in her second SEA Games, are expected to perform in the Myanmar competition. They will feature in the men's and women's singles events.

If they shine, they could find themselves leading the team at the next edition of the Games in Singapore, which will provide them with big-game experience ahead of the 2016 Olympics.

The association has targeted three gold medals from four events in Myanmar.

It hopes that Li and Chew will show that young, talented Singaporeans can fly the flag proudly for their country, which will reduce its reliance on foreign-born athletes.

The STTA has identified at least three emerging talents at the Singapore Sports School. The association says it will continue to monitor their development closely.

It says it has only truly developed its local talent development pipeline in the last two years. But it remains confident that the country will produce more home-grown, world-class paddlers in the near future.