‘Hard to say’ how Singapore fared at Asian Games as observers weigh medals, progress and expectations

SINGAPORE: Singapore's performance at the recently concluded Asian Games should be judged on more than its medal tally – with personal bests, national records and the emergence of young athletes among other measures of progress, said observers and members of the sporting fraternity. 

But some also questioned the decision by top sports officials to keep medal targets out of the public eye, saying greater transparency was needed for Singaporeans to gauge its sporting development. 

Their comments come after officials said on Sunday (Oct 4) that Singapore's young contingent of athletes had met "internal medal projections" and that most of them had achieved their targets. 

Singapore's 300 athletes, competing across 27 sports, brought home two gold medals, nine silvers and seven bronzes. 

It was the joint-lowest number of gold medals since 1998, although the nine silvers were the most Singapore has clinched at the meet. 

Asked why the projections were not made public, officials said there was a "trade-off", adding that doing so would have "multiplied" the pressure faced by athletes. But they did not rule out disclosing such targets publicly in future.

Members of the sporting fraternity who spoke to CNA were split over whether medal targets should be made public. 

While some agreed with officials that public targets could place unnecessary pressure on athletes, others said openness about goals at this level of competition was important for accountability.

Several pointed out that it was difficult for the public to understand what it meant for athletes to have met projections, when these aims had never been disclosed. 

Without a yardstick against which to assess the results, people would naturally compare the medal tally with those of