BookTalk: Former footballer Aleksandar Duric's favourite childhood books travelled around world with him
Aleksandar Duric, a former professional Singaporean footballer, with his favourite book, The Bridge On The Drina by Ivo Andric. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ALEKSANDAR DURIC
Who: Aleksandar Duric, 54, is a former professional footballer who is now the principal of the ActiveSG Football Academy, Sport Singapore. He is an eight-time Singapore Premier League (S-League) title winner, a three-time Golden Boot winner and a three-time S-League Player of the Ye ar. He was also part of the national team that clinched the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup.
His 2016 autobiography, Aleksandar Duric: Beyond Borders, documented the impact of the Bosnian War on him and his family, and how he came to play in more than 50 matches as a Singapore national team player.
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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
No quit in Singapore defender Ryhan Stewart even as the going gets tougher in Lithuania
Fullback Ryhan Stewart taking part in a national team training session at Kallang Football Hub on June 3 ahead of the June internationals against the Maldives and Bangladesh. PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE No quit in Singapore defender Ryhan Stewart even as the going gets tougher in Lithuania SINGAPORE – Ryhan Stewart had always dreamt of playing professionally in Europe and just as he celebrated accomplishing that goal after making his bow for Lithuanian top-flight side FK Riteriai in April, the Singaporean footballer witnessed the tumultuous nature of the sport. Days after his debut for the club, with whom he signed a two-year contract, media reports emerged that Riteriai were in financial turmoil. Suddenly, Stewart's career looked to be in limbo. Singapore-based sports marketing and player development firm Red Card Global, which had entered into an agreement to acquire Riteriai on Jan 20, pulled out of the deal and said it would be initiating legal action against the sellers for 'misrepresentation, breach of agreement and the unauthorised use of funds committed in good faith'. It left the Lithuanian top-tier club on the verge of bankruptcy. 'As a footballer, I know this career has its ups and down, there are a lot of highs and a lot of lows. So you can never get carried away. This is the real side of football,' said Stewart on June 3, after returning to Singapore for a national team training camp. Stewart, who has made seven starts and two substitute appearances for Riteriai since his transfer, had the option of leaving the club but the 25-year-old fullback decided to stay on. Stewart said: 'I feel the Lithuanian league is a good place to grow as a footballer. A lot of players come through here and go on to bigger leagues in Europe. 'I don't want to just go there and then just leave after two months. That's not what my initial plan was, so I want to stay and play as many games as I can and show what I can do.' On April 4, Riteriai said on their website that they are experiencing financial difficulties and attributed the situation to 'investors' unfulfilled obligations'. A report on the Baltic Football News website on May 16 stated that the club are up for sale. The report also added that 'the clock is ticking' and that 'the club now finds itself on the edge of collapse.' The Lithuanian Football Federation had already stepped in once, and transferred €50,000 (S$73,400) to Riteriai in early April to cover overdue wages and rent but LFF president Edgaras Stankevicius has said there will not be any additional help. When asked if he faced any issues, such as late payment of wages, Stewart said 'there's obviously been some difficulties' but declined to elaborate, stating that his club, coach and teammates have been 'very helpful'. His main objective, said the versatile player who can play as a fullback or winger, is to help his side avoid relegation. Fourteen matches into the 36-game A Lyga season, Riteriai are ninth out of 10 teams with two wins, four draws and eight losses. The bottom side will be relegated, while the ninth-placed club will face the second-placed team from the second tier in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the top flight. Adding that matches in Lithuania have been physically demanding – he runs almost 2km more per match than the 10km he clocked while in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) – Stewart believes he will benefit from the experience of being involved in a relegation dogfight. 'It's a good experience, because in the SPL there's no relegation, so you don't feel that pressure where every game and every point matters. Every single game is like a final,' said Stewart, who played in the SPL for Albirex Niigata, Warriors FC and the Young Lions, in addition to stints in Thailand with Chiangmai and BG Pathum United. 'We're ready to fight for each other and to try and get as many points as possible and help the club move higher up the league.' Riteriai coach Nikola Vitorovic also believes Stewart will emerge as a better player after his time in Lithuania. He said: 'In general, he is a good boy, a hard worker and I believe he has adapted well. He is defensively very good, very fast. 'He is working on being better with the ball when he is in attacking situations, but I expect that he will be a better player after his stint in Lithuania.' For now, the situation in Lithuania will take a back seat as Stewart shifts his focus to the Lions, who face Maldives in an international friendly at the Bishan Stadium on June 5, before the Asian Cup third-round qualifier against Bangladesh on June 10 at the National Stadium in Dhaka. All four teams in Group C have a point apiece after Singapore opened their campaign with a 0-0 home draw with Hong Kong at the National Stadium while Bangladesh held India to the same scoreline at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on March 25. Only the winners of the six groups will qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup. Stewart, who has 25 caps, said: 'All of us are raring to go. We really want to show what we can do in the friendly and we're all fighting for our place for the qualifier too. Our plan is to win both games.' Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news. 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Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Singapore triathlete Ben Khoo smashes his own national Ironman record in Hamburg
Benjamin Khoo clocked 8 hours 49 minutes and 46 seconds in Hamburg on June 1 to break his own Singapore record in the Ironman race. PHOTO: COURTESY OF BENJAMIN KHOO SINGAPORE – Battling the choppy waves and cold wind, Singapore triathlete Ben Khoo struggled at the start of the Ironman race in Hamburg, Germany, on June 1. But the 34-year-old pushed through the swim leg in the Alster Lake, made up ground on the bicycle before completing the marathon to clock 8 hours 49 minutes 46 seconds. In the process, he smashed his own Singapore record of 9:02:24, set at the Ironman Copenhagen race in August 2023. The Ironman race comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bicycle ride and 42km run. Khoo, a business executive in the chemicals sector, said: 'There was a thunderstorm, so the race was delayed, and we were afraid that that might affect the conditions. 'I didn't have a very good swim and the swim was longer than expected – 4km instead of 3.8km – but I was quite happy to make time on the bike. 'So I went much, much faster than I expected. And then I got off the bike, I was like, 'okay, more or less there already', I just need to finish a marathon conservatively, and I will be able to break the record with quite a comfortable buffer.' Triathlon Association of Singapore president Paul Rachmadi said Khoo 'delivered a monumental race'. He added: 'Smashing his previous best of 9:02:24, Ben continues to redefine the limits of endurance, discipline and dedication. 'An extraordinary achievement and a powerful inspiration to the next generation of triathletes in Singapore.' In April, Khoo had also competed in the Singapore leg of the T100 triathlon series at Marina Bay, where he finished as the quickest Singaporean in the open category. The T100 is a shorter event, with participants completing a 2km swim, 80km bike race and 18km run. Khoo said: 'The intensity of racing is higher (for the T100) and in Singapore, the course is also much more difficult, because it's hot and it's hilly, so it requires a lot more fitness and skill, whereas the Ironman is more of a test of endurance. 'They always say that the Ironman only begins at the last 10km of the marathon, which is not true. It's a nine-hour race… But the last 40 to 50 minutes are incredibly hard. With 14 km to go, my body shut down. So I couldn't run fast, couldn't take in nutrition, which was difficult. 'It was not a race against the rest of the field but a race against the clock. So I'm always checking the clock, looking at the total time.' Khoo was introduced to multi-sport racing at Raffles Institution, where he participated in adventure racing – running and cycling – as part of his Boys' Brigade co-curricular activity. After secondary school, he dabbled in triathlon and first represented Singapore in the Under-23 category of the Asian Triathlon Championships in Taiwan in 2011. Khoo, who holds a master of science in management science and engineering from Stanford University, said he chose the Ironman Hamburg race as it is known to be a fast course, adding: 'The age group world record was set there last year, and this year the pro women world record was also set there.' Having lowered his own national record in Germany, Khoo is eyeing something else closer to home. He is hoping to be part of the national duathlon team for the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand. 'The Iron Man is a nine-hour race, whereas the SEA Games format for me would be 20 minutes,' he said. 'It's a real transformation of systems and I have to change from a long and slow athlete to high octane and pretty much a sprint. It will take some time to transform the body, so that will be my focus for the next six months.' Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New Paper
5 days ago
- New Paper
Elite Prince holds court again
Relative newcomer Elite Prince overcame his outside barrier in the RM200,000 (S$61,000) 3-Year-Old Sprint Championship (1,200m) to score back-to-back wins at Sungai Besi on June 1. Trained by Singaporean Richard Lim, the son of Bon Hoffa faced 12 other runners in the highlight race in Kuala Lumpur, including several last-start winners like Duma, Yes Man, Defeater, Release The Spirit and Rocky Bhai. Elite Prince was no pushover among his peers, though. After an unplaced run on debut on April 20, the Australian-bred opened his account with a handy win in a Restricted Maiden race (1,200m) at his second and last start on May 18, when he beat Singha Bay by 1¾lengths. Although he won from gate 11 then, Lim was still worried the wide barrier 9 this time could work against his positive tactics, but the promising Elite Prince dispelled his concerns shortly after the start. The three-year-old chestnut galloper showed plenty of speed under Shafiq Rizuan to cut across and lead on the rails from Sakura (Mohd Zaki) and Yes Man (Oscar Chavez) in the back straight. Turning for home, Elite Prince ($30) quickly put a two-length margin between him and Yes Man. Duma (Andre da Silva), who had been buried in fifth on the rails, switched to the outside at the 400m to launch his challenge. But Elite Prince was in no mood to relinquish his advantage and held on all the way to the line. Duma ran more than two lengths behind in second while Yes Man finished another length away in third. The winning time was 1min 9.28sec for the 1,200m on the short course. Lim was relieved with Elite Prince's second win over the 1,200m trip, which he has raced over in all three starts in Malaysia, but reckoned the Mahalinggam Palanisamy-owned gelding could have his job cut out for him in the 3-Year-Old Mile Championship (1,600m) on June 29. "We were quite worried before the race, not just (the highest-rated) Duma, but many other runners too because they've all done quite well," said the Penang-born conditioner. "There's a lot of speed in the race and he (Elite Prince) has drawn wide, so we thought he could be caught wide. Luckily, he got across quite easily. "The 1,600m might be a bit too long for him. I would have to discuss with the owner and Shafiq again to decide if we run him then." First-time race partner Shafiq said a change of racing pattern could suit Elite Prince should he go over the mile. "I worked the horse in the week and I know he's got ability, because he won easily at his last start," said the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice. "Today, I was a bit worried because we drew wide, but the race worked out very well for him as he led easily. He kept going in the straight. "I think he can stay the 1,600m but we might have to change how we ride him." Lim has brought up his first hat-trick of wins in Malaysia since he relocated to Kuala Lumpur in Dec 2024. Before Elite Prince's victory in Race 7, Southern Speed ($52) took out the RM38,000 Class 5A contest (1,400m) for comeback jockey Troy See in Race 2, while King's Gambit ($15) saluted in the other Class 5A event (1,400m) under da Silva in Race 3. From seven rides at his first meeting in Malaysia on June 1 after eight years, See has racked up a winning double. After D's Secret ran fourth in the opener, the 36-year-old Singaporean jockey steered Southern Speed to a nose victory on his second ride. He then booted home another winner - The Wild Hero ($11) - for trainer Jason Ong in the RM38,000 Class 5A race (1,020m) in the last race. The 2018 Singapore champion apprentice last rode in New South Wales, Australia on Jan 21, 2023, when he incurred the wrath of the stewards for his conduct. He had a mobile phone in his possession during a random search performed in the jockeys' room at his last meeting at Murwillumbah. See, who rode 12 winners in Australia, pleaded guilty to three charges - possession of a mobile phone in the jockeys' room, refusal to obey a stewards' direction and hindering stewards in the exercise of their powers and duties. He was disqualified for 22½ months, from Jan 29, 2023 to Dec 15, 2024. Before he relocated to Australia, he had been riding in Singapore since his debut in 2012. See, who rode in six races for one third in Malaysia back in 2017, has since returned to riding in the barrier trials at Kuala Lumpur on April 2. sharonzhang@
