Top swimmers to battle in inaugural Singapore-Indonesia Duel Meet

SINGAPORE — Swimmers from Singapore and Indonesia will square off in the inaugural Duel Meet that will see them race head to head in an array of events at the Gelora Bung Karno Aquatic Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 28 to 29 Jan.

Both nations using this meet to fine-tune their swimmers as they prepare for the SEA Games in May. In the 31st SEA Games held last year in Vietnam, Singapore won 21 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze in the swimming competition. It was two gold medals short of their all-time best-ever performance in the SEA Games, which they achieved in 2015 and 2019.

Among the top swimmers representing Singapore in the Duel Meet are Commonwealth Games silver medalists Teong Tzen Wei and Quah Ting Wen, representing the nation at the 2008 and 2016 Olympics.

Singapore national swimming head coach Gary Tan will rekindle memories of his swimming days as on the opposing side is a familiar face, Indonesia team manager Wisnu Wardhana whom he first met in the pool at the 1997 SEA Games.

While this may be the first such meet of its kind, Tan hopes that it won’t be the last and believes that it can be built towards strengthening the aquatics scene for the two countries.

“We hope to make this an annual affair and build up excitement for both Indonesia and Singapore swimming. Singapore and Indonesia have always enjoyed a healthy, competitive rivalry, even during Wisnu’s and my era,” said Tan, who will be supported by swimming coach Gustavo Schirru, and strength and conditioning coach Thng Shiqi and Carl de Vries.

“We want to build on this rich shared history for future generations.”

“Gary and I have kept in touch all these years and we thought it would be good to work on something together,” added Wisnu, who is looking forward to meeting Tan.

Singapore will be represented by a total of 16 swimmers. The full list can be found below.