Book signings, victory parades, fan meets, guest appearances – the list goes on for Singapore swim star Joseph Schooling.

Life took a majestic turn for national swimmer after 50.39sec of his 100m butterfly race at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Schooling became Singapore’s first Olympic gold medallist with a stunning swim, and on his second time back to the Republic, the University of Texas undergraduate is once again facing a packed itinerary over the next few days.

The 21-year-old, who arrived home on Friday morning, has returned primarily for the Singapore Swimming Association golf fund-raiser on Tuesday, but he has events scheduled right through the course of the week, and sometimes two in a day.

“It’s definitely not what it used to be,” he told The New Paper at The Istana yesterday during the President’s Tea Reception for Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians.

“It is physically tiring but at the same time, I appreciate everything that has happened (since the win) and every time I come back, I mentally prepare myself and I know that it is work.

“But with the work, there are also privileges, like today.

“It is not everyday that someone gets the opportunity to come by The Istana and be hosted by the President.”

President Tony Tan Keng Yam congratulated the Singaporean contingent, which included the likes of double Paralympic champion Yip Pin Xiu and Paralympic bronze medallist Theresa Goh, two swimmers, who like Schooling, made waves in Rio.

Schooling, who made his first public appearance at Ngee Ann City earlier yesterday afternoon as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, said: “Even though I do miss having some private time when I’m home, it is for reasons like this that I don’t mind being tied up. Even if it meant I helped just one person.

“At the end of the day, sacrificing my private time to inspire other people is a small price to pay and I am very fortunate and appreciative of the fact that I am able to do that.”

With Schooling at The Istana were his teammates, swimming siblings Quah Ting Wen and younger brother Quah Zheng Wen.

Zheng Wen took the stage during the reception where he shared his experience leading up to and at the Olympics this year.

He finished 10th overall in the 200m butterfly to just miss out on the final.

He clocked 1min 56.11sec in the first semi-final and only the top eight progressed to the final.

He swam 1:56.01 in the afternoon heats, which was also a new personal best for him.

“I came in 10th and I won’t pad it up. It was pretty brutal for me,” he said.
”To have come that close and miss it (the final); it’s like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.

“To know that you had it only to let it slip away,” he said.

The 20-year-old, who is gunning for a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, added: “This only makes me look forward to Tokyo 2020 and I’m really excited and looking forward to see what Team Singapore can do there… we have a lot of potential.”

COMMENT

After the way Thailand beat Indonesia 4-2 in their opening AFF Suzuki Cup match, their billing as overwhelming favourites will be reinforced ahead of their encounter with Singapore on Tuesday.

Of course, it won’t be easy for the Lions.

But this will not be the first time the Lions are playing against a good team.

Look at what Singapore managed to pull off when they played Japan in a 2018 World Cup qualifier last year (it ended 0-0 at Saitama Stadium).

Singapore have played Thailand in Suzuki Cup finals before, and on every occasion, everybody said the Thais were the favourites.

But the matches were also closely fought and not all went the way of the Thais.

V Sundramoorthy’s men must take things into their own hands.

They have every chance of winning.

They played well in the draw with the Philippines.

The hosts were trying to play technical football, but they had to do it on a pitch which wasn’t that good.

Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny pulled off several crucial saves but the whole team did their best.

Look at Safuwan Baharudin, Hariss Harun and Anumanthan.

All of them worked very hard.

The backline did an excellent job against a team playing with an extra man for almost one hour.

When Faris Ramli came on as a substitute in the second half, he almost instantly created a scoring chance.

Hassan, as the goalkeeper, was the last barrier the Philippines had to breach.

He was the man designated to make the final stop in case the opponents broke through, and he did his job perfectly.

But the number of bookings Singapore received in this game may come back to haunt them if they go far in the tournament.

I don’t think it was an intentional foul by Hafiz Abu Sujad, who got his marching orders in the first half.

He went for the ball and caught Phil Younghusband high, and the referee was close enough to the incident to assess the situation and he felt that he had to send Hafiz off.

Some referees would give a red card for that, some wouldn’t.

On top of the dismissal, Anumanthan, Safuwan and Hassan also got yellow cards.

It can become a big problem if they reach the semi-finals or the final, and find their key players suspended.

Singapore’s next game will definitely be more physical than it was against the Philippines.

Potentially, they may rack up even more bookings.

Considering that this was their first game, and it was against the home team, this has to count as a good result for the Lions.

 
Coach Radojko Avramovic. PHOTO: BH FILE

• Radojko Avramovic is the most successful national team coach in the history of Singapore football. He led the Lions from 2004 to 2012 and won the AFF Championship in 2004, 2007 and 2012 to become the first and only coach to win the title three times.


• FOX Sports is proud to be the exclusive pay-TV broadcaster for the 11th edition of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup. The biennial championship gathers Southeast Asia’s top national teams to vie to be crowned kings of football in the region. FOX Sports will be showing all 18 games live on both its network and its online FOX Sports Play offering. Leading the team in the FOX Sports studio will be industry veteran Steve Dawson and former Singapore international John Wilkinson, with insights from former Suzuki Cup coaches, Steve Darby and record three-time title-winning coach, Radojko “Raddy” Avramovic.

His daughter was going through a tough time in her life, and he has based his second book on that.

Former actor Edmund Chen launched the second in his four-part illustrated Chinese book series, My Little Red Dot, on Monday (Nov 14).

The first book, My Little Red Dot: River Series, was published last year.

The second, My Little Red Dot: Forest Series, follows the main character on a journey of self-discovery.

Chen, 55, who wrote the text and drew the illustrations, tells The New Paper on Sunday: “My daughter wanted to fit in with her friends and be like them, so she changed a lot about herself.

“Because of my wife’s and my background in the acting industry, she didn’t want her friends to judge her based on that. One day, she told me not to take her to school in case her friends saw (us) – that really woke me up.”

Chen’s wife is veteran actress Xiang Yun.

He says he thought of creating a character that represented his 16-year-old daughter’s experiences growing up.

“I wanted to make a character that could be another friend to her. It took a long time to think of what it should look like, something simple but not so symmetrical,” he says.

Thus, My Little Red Dot was born – a minuscule fish with big eyes and a red dot on its body.

Chen says the fish character does not have a proper name yet, as it is still “very small and insignificant”, and he will probably reveal its name once the character completes its journey of self-discovery.

The books are also colouring books. He says: “The first impression that people have of my book is that it’s just a normal colouring book for therapy purposes. But, it’s more than that. I think of it as philosophical, where there is a meaningful story behind every page.

“For example, one page can be about struggles, and the next will be about successes. Flip the page and it might be about a mid-life crisis.

“It’s also about finding your true self. When you hate something about yourself, you try to change it. Once you change it, you finally realise that you lost that uniqueness, and you try to get it back again.”

Chen gives the example of how, back in his acting days, people used to tease him about his red cheeks, which he tried to cover up with foundation until he found out that it was part of his identity.

My Little Red Dot: Forest Series features plants and trees in Singapore, and readers can scan QR codes behind each page to find out more about them.

Chen will take a short break from his books to attend The New Paper Courts Big Walk with his daughter and son, 25.

“For me, it really isn’t about the location and the end of the trail, but about the journey and bonding with my family while staying healthy,” he says. “It’s nice to just relax in the zoo and not realise how fast time passes by. You have to live in the moment and cherish it.”

Then it will be back to drawing up the third book.

Says Chen: “I’m working on the third book, which has the city as the theme, and hopefully it can be published by next April.

“I feel that my next two books are starting to push me out of my comfort zone, as I have to draw and create something that is different and better than the previous ones.”

He is also creating My Little Red Dot merchandise such as water bottles and postcards, and working with travel brand Samsonite to design luggage.

Chen even hopes to have a cultural centre of his own soon, where people of all ages can have a hands-on experience of his artwork.

“It’s definitely on my mind, but I’ll take things one at a time. Sometimes, we must take a step back and look at ourselves to see whether our dreams are realistic or not.”

WHEN

Saturday, Nov 26, 2pm

WHERE

Singapore Zoo and Night Safari

REGISTRATION FEE

$35

ON-SITE SIGN-UP

Today, noon to 8pm

Register and collect your goodie bag at:

• Courts Orchard
  228, Orchard Road
• Courts Megastore
  50, Tampines North Drive 2

WIN

• A Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle worth $17,000
• A total of $28,000 worth of lucky draw prizes

MORE

Courts Megastore 10th Anniversary logos will be planted along the route of The New Paper Courts Big Walk. Count the total number of logos you spot, go to Courts Megastore and answer the question correctly to redeem a FREE goodie bag.

MAN UNITED 1

(Juan Mata 69)

ARSENAL 1

(Olivier Giroud 89)

Never one to shy away from being a headline-maker, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho dubbed his side “the unluckiest team in the Premier League” after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal yesterday.

United claimed reward for their mounting pressure when Juan Mata put them ahead in the 69th minute, only for Olivier Giroud to equalise a minute from time with Arsenal’s first attempt on target.

United have won just two of their last nine league games and trail Arsenal by six points.

“Of course it is two points dropped. We were the best team by far. They had no chances to win,” Mourinho said.

“They could not be Arsenal the way they normally play football. We were phenomenal defensively. The way we pressed and the way we controlled their counter-attacks.

“Then when we had the ball we were very comfortable. We scored a fantastic goal, we had chances to win the game and then the only time they go there and the only time we had a situation we could not resolve, they scored.

“They are the lucky ones and we are the unlucky ones. The team played very well. This team at the moment are the unluckiest team in the Premier League. That is the reality.”

Arsenal had not troubled United goalkeeper David de Gea until Giroud climbed to head home fellow substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross.

But visiting manager Arsene Wenger drew heart from their refusal to accept defeat.

“The result in the end is positive for us because we were 1-0 down with two minutes to go,” the Frenchman told Sky Sports.

“For the rest it was a bit of a scrappy game with two teams well organised who defended well.

SAVIOUR

“The players who came on made a massive difference today. When you are 1-0 down and come back to 1-1, of course you have to feel happy.

“We lacked a bit of sharpness today. What is it down to? I don’t know, but at least we came back.”

Arsenal have not won at United in the league since September 2006 and Wenger admitted his side’s dismal record at Old Trafford had crossed his mind as he watched from the bench.

“I wondered during the game about that. Honestly, you never know,” he said.

“Last year we would have maybe lost this game and today we didn’t, so we have improved on that front.

“Hopefully now we can kick on with some wins.” – AFP.

“My view was it was not a penalty. You won’t be surprised by that. Mourinho’s view is it was a penalty. You won’t be surprised by that.”

— Arsene Wenger, on United’s vain appeal for a penalty after Antonio Valencia tangled with Nacho Monreal in the Arsenal box

“I have absolutely nothing to say against my players. But I feel sorry for them because we feel like a defeat and for sure Arsenal are feeling like a victory.”

— Jose Mourinho

The annual award was launched in 2010 and, every two years, the presentation of the top individual trophy for young talent in Singapore – The New Paper Dollah Kassim Award – inadvertently coincides with the AFF Suzuki Cup, the top football competition in South-east Asia.

In 2010, Ammirul Emmran Mazlan, then aged 15, got the nod and the senior internationals failed to get out of the group stage of the competition.

In 2012, the Lions stormed to what was then a record fourth Asean crown, while R Aaravin claimed the individual honour back home.

In 2014, the Lions suffered the ignominy of a first-round exit on home soil, with Muhelmi Suhaimi named as TNP Dollah Kassim award winner.

Looking at the cycle, perhaps the Lions could be in for a special finish at this year’s Suzuki Cup.

Less than 12 hours before the tournament kicked off in Manila yesterday, Rusyaidi Salime’s name boomed out of the speakers at Jurongville Secondary School, as he became the seventh recipient of the Dollah Kassim award, which is meant for youngsters who exhibit excellent technical work and stellar character.

The 18-year-old right back was selected from a group of six nominees – centre backs Irfan Najeeb, 17, Nur Adam Abdullah, 15, and Qayumm Raishyan, 16, 16-year-old striker Danial Syafiq Mustaffa and central midfielder Justin Hui, 18.

A beaming Rusyaidi, who was also nominated in 2014, said “It was a surprising win for me, a pleasant surprise.

“The other five nominees are very talented players… I’ve worked very hard and it just goes to show that your hard work will eventually pay off.”

Rusyaidi’s parents and big sister were present at the event yesterday and dad Salime, a boarding officer, said: “We are very proud and extremely happy.

“My favourite sport is football and, ever since Rusyaidi started playing with the Garena Young Lions, I have always been going down to his games and supporting him.

DISCIPLINE

“I just hope he will not stop working hard and that he will continue to work on his stamina with discipline.”

Mum Rohaizah, a full-time housewife, said: “I don’t know much about football, but I can only pray he will do his best in whatever his passion is.

“If I had to choose between his studies and football, of course I would want him to focus on his studies.

“Studies still come first no matter what, but I’m very proud of him.”

An initiative of The New Paper, in collaboration with the Football Association of Singapore, the award is named after the late Singapore international Dollah Kassim, who delighted so many during the 1970s with his attacking skills and was affectionately known as the “Gelek King.”

Dominic Nathan, editor of The New Paper, believes the award can be used as a platform to boost Singapore football.

“This award does recognise the past and the present, but we also hope to build something for the future,” he said.

“This award can be used as a platform to build the future, especially when we’ve seen good players emerge as winners over the last few years who could potentially flourish in national colours.

“The award is meaningful, it honours a football legend in Singapore, Dollah Kassim, so in a way, it is an initiative to contribute back to Singapore football.”

“I’ve worked very hard and it just goes to show that your hard work will eventually pay off.”

– Rusyaidi Salime

His daughter was going through a tough time in her life, and he has based his second book on that.

Former actor Edmund Chen launched the second in his four-part illustrated Chinese book series, My Little Red Dot, on Monday.

The first book, My Little Red Dot: River Series, was published last year.

The second, My Little Red Dot: Forest Series, follows the main character on a journey of self-discovery.

Chen, 55, who wrote the text and drew the illustrations, tells The New Paper on Sunday: “My daughter wanted to fit in with her friends and be like them, so she changed a lot about herself.

“Because of my wife’s and my background in the acting industry, she didn’t want her friends to judge her based on that. One day, she told me not to take her to school in case her friends saw (us) – that really woke me up.”

Chen’s wife is veteran actress Xiang Yun.

He says he thought of creating a character that represented his 16-year-old daughter’s experiences growing up.

“I wanted to make a character that could be another friend to her. It took a long time to think of what it should look like, something simple but not so symmetrical,” he says.

Thus, My Little Red Dot was born – a minuscule fish with big eyes and a red dot on its body.

Chen says the fish character does not have a proper name yet, as it is still “very small and insignificant”, and he will probably reveal its name once the character completes its journey of self-discovery.

The books are also colouring books. He says: “The first impression that people have of my book is that it’s just a normal colouring book for therapy purposes. But, it’s more than that. I think of it as philosophical, where there is a meaningful story behind every page.

“For example, one page can be about struggles, and the next will be about successes. Flip the page and it might be about a mid-life crisis.

“It’s also about finding your true self. When you hate something about yourself, you try to change it. Once you change it, you finally realise that you lost that uniqueness, and you try to get it back again.”

Chen gives the example of how, back in his acting days, people used to tease him about his red cheeks, which he tried to cover up with foundation until he found out that it was part of his identity.

My Little Red Dot: Forest Series features plants and trees in Singapore, and readers can scan QR codes behind each page to find out more about them.

Chen will take a short break from his books to attend The New Paper Courts Big Walk with his daughter and son, 25.

“For me, it really isn’t about the location and the end of the trail, but about the journey and bonding with my family while staying healthy,” he says. “It’s nice to just relax in the zoo and not realise how fast time passes by. You have to live in the moment and cherish it.”

Then it will be back to drawing up the third book.

Says Chen: “I’m working on the third book, which has the city as the theme, and hopefully it can be published by next April.

“I feel that my next two books are starting to push me out of my comfort zone, as I have to draw and create something that is different and better than the previous ones.”

He is also creating My Little Red Dot merchandise such as water bottles and postcards, and working with travel brand Samsonite to design luggage.

Chen even hopes to have a cultural centre of his own soon, where people of all ages can have a hands-on experience of his artwork.

“It’s definitely on my mind, but I’ll take things one at a time. Sometimes, we must take a step back and look at ourselves to see whether our dreams are realistic or not.”

WHEN

Saturday, Nov 26, 2pm

WHERE

Singapore Zoo and Night Safari

REGISTRATION FEE

$35

ON-SITE SIGN-UP

Today, noon to 8pm

Register and collect your goodie bag at:

• Courts Orchard
  228, Orchard Road
• Courts Megastore
  50, Tampines North Drive 2

WIN

• A Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle worth $17,000
• A total of $28,000 worth of lucky draw prizes

MORE

Courts Megastore 10th Anniversary logos will be planted along the route of The New Paper Courts Big Walk. Count the total number of logos you spot, go to Courts Megastore and answer the question correctly to redeem a FREE goodie bag.

REPORTING 
FROM MANILA

GROUP A

PHILIPPINES 0

SINGAPORE 0

The chorus of boos probably continued to ring in their heads throughout their hour-long journey back to the hotel from the Philippine Sports Stadium last night.

But the Lions probably would not have cared, after they earned a point with the 0-0 draw in their opening Group A tie in the AFF Suzuki Cup.

After all, they had survived an hour-long onslaught against the hosts playing with a man down after Hafiz Abu Sujad’s red card in the 34th minute.

Following the dismissal, V Sundramoorthy’s charges battened down the hatches, defended for their lives, and, every now and then, took a breather by going down and receiving treatment.

The home side were not happy with what they felt were time wasting tactics, and jeers rained down from the stands for most of the final 10 minutes of the game, every time a Singapore player hit the deck.

They continued heckling the visitors at the end of the match.

Philippines coach Thomas Dooley was equally critical of the Lions.

“Obviously I’m disappointed we could not score against 10 men,” said the American.

“It was obvious that they tried to park the bus in front of goal after the red card. I know it’s part of the game but I don’t like it.

“Usually in a match, only 65 minutes (of the 90) are playing, but this time I’m not even sure if we played 45.

“You could see they wasted time, taking a long time to take corners and so on.”

UNPERTURBED

Sundram and his charges were hardly bothered with the criticism.

Skipper Hariss Harun said: “It doesn’t matter to us. We came here to do a job, and get the win.

“Coach sets us up to our strengths, and we thought, even after the red card, we might have nicked something at a set-piece.

“To me, it doesn’t matter how the crowd reacted, or what anyone has to say.”

Singapore started well last night, with defender Daniel Bennett sending a shot wide from inside the penalty box after just three minutes.

The home side grew into the game, with influential attacker Stephan Schrock pulling the strings.

They were handed the initiative when Syrian referee Masoud Naifa produced a straight red card for midfielder Hafiz, whose high boot appeared to catch Philippines captain Phil Younghusband in the chest.

Dooley introduced half-Japanese midfielder Hikaru Minegishi, who was named the best player in the recently concluded Philippine United Football League, at the start of the second half to turn the screws on the Lions.

All Philippines’ best chances fell to the pint-sized attacker.

Just two minutes after he came on, Minegishi latched on to Schrock’s perfect through-ball and fired a shot at goal, but Hassan Sunny dived low to his left to parry the ball.

With nine minutes left to play, Minegishi and Schrock again combined, but the former blazed his effort well over the bar.

In injury time, Hassan dived to his right to produce a full stretch save and tip the ball behind, after Minegishi was unmarked at a corner kick.

Sundram, who had screamed himself hoarse during the game trying to organise his team, was in a foul mood over the red card, which he felt was harsh.

He was further riled up at the press conference, when a local journalist asked if he felt fortunate to escape with the point

Doing his best impression of Dirty Harry, Sundram shot back: “Do you think I’m lucky?”

“The boys were motivated before the game and we went out there for the three points, but that task became a lot more difficult with just 10 men,” he said.

“Obviously with only 10 players it is difficult to press high, because you’ll leave a lot of holes behind. So it’s natural to sit back and counter.”

“Coach sets us up to our strengths, and we thought,even after the red card, we might have nicked something at a set-piece. To me, it doesn’t matte rhow the crowd reacted, or what anyone has to say.”

– Singapore skipper Hariss Harun

TEAMS AND LIONS’ RATING

PHILIPPINES: Roland Muller, Amani Aguinaldo, Kenshiro Daniels (Junior Munoz 82), Jeffrey Christiaens, Kevin Ingreso, Manny Ott, Phil Younghusband, Mike Ott, Misagh Bahadoran (Mark Hartmann 58), Stephan Schrock, Iain Ramsay (Hikaru Minegishi 46).

SINGAPORE: Hassan Sunny 8, Faritz Hameed 6.5 (Baihakki Khaizan 77), Madhu Mohana 6.5, Daniel Bennett 8, Shakir Hamzah 7, M Anumanthan 7, Juma’at Jantan 6.5 (Faris Ramli 64), Safuwan Baharudin 6.5, Hariss Harun 6.5, Hafiz Abu Sujad 6, Khairul Amri 7 (Yasir Hanapi 94).

TNP Man of the Match: 
Hassan Sunny

STATISTICS

Shots: Singapore 0 on, 5 off; Philippines 7 on, 9 off

Corners: Singapore 3, Philippines 8

Offsides: Singapore 0, Philippines 4

Yellow cards: Singapore 3 (Anumanthan, Safuwan, Hassan), Philippines 2 (Manny Ott, Mike Ott)

Red card: Hafiz 34

Attendance: 4,339

Referee: Masoud Naifa (Syria) 3.5/10

Match rating: 4.5/10

Singapore ground out a hard-fought goal-less draw in their opening AFF Suzuki Cup match against hosts Philippines on Saturday night.

The Lions will be pleased with the point, after playing with only 10 men for almost an hour, when Hafiz Sujad was dismissed in the 34th minute for a high boot on Phil Younghusband near the halfway line.

The Philippines dominated possession thereafter but were unable to convert their chances.

Substitute Hikaru Minegishi had the best opportunities to put the home side ahead.

The 25-year-old second-half substitute almost scored with his first touch in the 47th minute but in-form Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny pulled off a fine save.

On the hour mark, Stephan Schrock found himself with time and space in the penalty box but Juma’at Jantan’s last-ditch block took the sting out of his shot.

Nine minutes from time, Minegishi should have buried home the winning goal, but he skied his effort from close range.

The attacking midfielder was thwarted again by Hassan during time added-on, as Singapore’s defence desperately held their ground.

Said Singapore captain Hariss Harun after the match: “”It was a disciplined performance (by us). We held well and we will now look forward to our next game.”

Singapore play Thailand in their next Group A game on Tuesday, while Philippines will take on Indonesia later that day.