‘We can match Malaysia or do even better', say Singapore's divers

Straits Times

25-07-2025

Singapore's Fong Kay Yian (top) and Ashlee Tan competing in the 2019 SEA Games women's 3m synchronised final where they claimed silver behind Malaysia.
SINGAPORE – In a sport that has little margin for error, where any mis-step is magnified in the form of a big splash, it is no surprise that national diver Ashlee Tan is a doctor.
Currently serving her housemanship at Ng Teng Fong Hospital, the 25-year-old sees similarities between her career and her sport.
She told The Straits Times: 'Both medicine and diving have a lot of technical aspects about them and I have to pay attention to the technical details in each field.
'Also, I have to be very disciplined to juggle training, studying and work.'
Each work day, she wakes up at 5.45am, begins her shift at the hospital at 6.30am and rushes to training from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, before going to bed at 10.30pm. The daily grind is exhausting, but Tan persists because of her love for the sport.
The former primary school gymnast first tried diving at age 11 and was hooked.
She said: 'People ask why am I still doing this given my schedule, because most people just want to go home and chill after a long day of work.
'But I really enjoy the feeling of flipping in the air and the sensation of a clean entry into the water. Besides that, I also have a strong desire to perfect my dives and succeed in competitions, which pushes me to go for training even after work.'
While Singapore has a storied history in swimming, it was not the case for diving – the discipline was only revived after the Republic hosted the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.
The dormant diving programme was restarted and in 2013, Singapore returned to the SEA Games podium after a 30-year-wait.
As the world's top diving nations try to close the gap on the all-conquering China, Singapore's divers are also trying to play catch-up in the region with their Malaysian counterparts.
Springboard diver Tan has witnessed the progress first-hand in her decade as a national athlete.
She said: 'Malaysia has always churned out Olympic and world championship medallists, so the disparity between us and them was very big at the start.
'But increasingly, we feel that whatever they can do, we can match or even do better.'
She pointed to recent results to back up her point.
In 2017, Fong Kay Yian and Tan combined to win the SEA Games women's 3m synchronised springboard gold for Singapore's first diving gold at the regional meet in 44 years. Platform divers Jonathan Chan and Freida Lim also became the first Singaporean divers to qualify for the Olympics when they made it to Tokyo 2020.
At the South-east Asian Age Group Championships in June, Singapore managed to win eight out of the 23 events.
National diving coach Charlie Tu said: 'We believe our divers have strong long-term potential at the South-east Asian level. With continued investment in quality coaching, sports science, and competition exposure, they are well positioned to not only remain competitive but to also contend for podium finishes consistently in future SEA Games and regional events.'
With Chan and Lim now retired, there is a new wave of divers such as 17-year-old Max Lee and Ainslee Kwang, 14, who are part of Singapore's nine-athlete WCH roster. The squad has an average age of just under 20.
Max, a platform diver who will add springboard events to his repertoire for the first time in his third WCH, said: 'These world championships are a great opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone, try something new, and challenge myself across different events. Each event requires a slightly different mindset and skill set, so I'm really enjoying the process of adapting and learning.
'I'm mainly focused on delivering a consistent and confident performance, and staying mentally strong. I want to do my best and put on a solid showing, grow from the experience and build toward my longer-term goals, which include qualifying for the 2028 Olympics.'
To prepare for the WCH, the national divers participated in a training camp in China, and they have also been focusing on refining technical consistency, improving execution under pressure with match-day simulation, and building physical conditioning.
While Singapore is not expected to win medals, Tu said: 'Our main goal is for our divers to gain valuable international experience and measure themselves against the world's best.
'While we do hope for strong individual performances and personal bests, our focus remains on long-term development. Reaching finals or semifinals would be a great achievement, but consistency and learning are the top priorities.'