As the nation toasted 51 years of progress back home, Singapore athletes competing in the Olympics halfway across the world also wanted to celebrate how far their small nation has come in the world of sport.

But despite a fine Rio debut by swimmer Joseph Schooling – who clocked a new national record of 48.27 seconds in the men’s 100m freestyle, en route to earning himself a place in the semi-finals – there was little else to cheer.

On a day when the table tennis team could have given Singapore a perfect birthday present by securing at least a bronze medal in the women’s singles event, both Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu fell short.

World No. 4 Feng, the second seed in the tournament, was stunned 0-4 (12-14, 8-11, 7-11, 5-11) by Japan’s Ai Fukuhara.

Yu’s defeat came at the hands of North Korean Kim Song I who prevailed 4-2 (8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11).

Had both Singaporeans won the quarter-final matches, they would have progressed to the final four and ensured at least a bronze.

Said a teary Yu after her loss: “We really had hoped to win a medal for Singapore for a great way to celebrate (National Day).

“Regrettably, we weren’t able to do it.”

Table tennis delivered two bronzes (singles and team) at the 2012 Olympics.

But it can now only hope for success in the team event.

If Team Singapore are to match the 2012 feat, it will need other hopefuls like Schooling and shooter Jasmine Ser to deliver.

Schooling’s fine form in the 100m free bodes well for for a good showing in his pet 100m butterfly on Thursday afternoon (Brazil time) – he won a bronze at last year’s world championships in this event.

Ser, who will also be in action on Thursday in the 50m three positions, is an outside bet for a medal.

Rower Saiyidah Aisyah had reason to cheer even though she missed out on a chance to make the semi-finals.

Needing to finish in the top three in the single sculls, she could manage only sixth in a time of 7min 56sec.

She will now take part in the repechage rounds hoping to continue her creditable performances.

The 28-year-old is the first Singaporean rower to qualify for the quadrennial Games, and had progressed through the heats in the 2,000m race to be a surprise quarter-finalist.

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AFP, Reuters, The Straits Times

This article was first published on August 10, 2016.
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RIO DE JANEIRO – China’s Chen Ruolin shrugged off an inexplicably green Rio diving pool to tie team-mate Wu Minxia’s two-day-old record of five career diving gold medals on Tuesday.

China’s magnificent divers stayed unbeaten in the Olympics as Chen and Liu Huixia won the women’s 10m synchronised competition, taking China to three-for-three in its bid for an unprecedented eight-event sweep.

But much of the attention at the event was directed at the diving well’s bizarre transformation from light-blue the day before to a murky green, the latest embarrassing hiccup for the Rio Games.

Venue spokesman Simon Langford said water tests found “no risk whatsoever to athletes’ health.” “We are investigating to determine what the cause of the situation was, but we are happy to report that the competition was successfully concluded,” he said.

It ended happily for the often under-appreciated Chen, 23, who is now firmly among the sport’s greats.

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AFP, Reuters, The Straits Times

On Sunday, the 30-year-old veteran Wu became the first to the five-gold milestone by taking the women’s 3m synchronised springboard with Shi Tingmao, passing legends like American Greg Louganis and former Chinese springboard diva Guo Jingjing.

Chen paid tribute to the senior Wu as her “idol.” “I know she won five gold medals and that is very, very incredible. But to be honest I haven’t personally thought much about that,” Chen said.

“All of us have tried very hard in our training and we have won our medals because of our dedication.” Chen and other divers said the green water was not a factor.

“I don’t think this affected us in any way,” Chen said.

The Chinese fought off a spirited challenge from Malaysian silver medallists Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong, while Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion replicated their London 2012 bronze.

With the typical Chinese combination of grace and muscular precision, Chen and Liu held on to a slim early lead to finish at 354.00 points, just 9.44 points clear of the Malaysians.

It was a three-peat gold in the event for Chen, who won with different partners in Beijing and London.

She also ruled the individual 10m platform in those Games, but is not entered for Rio.

The cheerful and cheeky Chen was coy on whether she would retire or compete in future Games.

“If I were to retire – if – I would cheer on those that come after me, but I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” she said.

No team has swept all eight men’s and women’s golds since the number of medals doubled at Sydney 2000 with the addition of synchronised events.

China fell one gold shy in 2008, and two short in London.

Malaysia’s finish marked the best-ever by women from that country. Pandelela won an individual bronze in 2012, the first-ever medal by a Malaysian woman.

On Wednesday, China’s Qin Kai goes for his third straight men’s synchronised 3m springboard title, pairing with Cao Yuan, who won London gold in the 10m synchro.

Gold-medal holders He Zi and Shi Tingmao also will compete later in the Games for the women.

The diving ends on the Games’ second-to-last day with its most anticipated contest, the men’s 10m individual platform.

China’s reigning world champ Qiu Bo will look to avenge the upset loss in London to David Boudia of the United States that left him with silver.

Joining them will be Chen Aisen, who won gold Monday in the 10m men’s synchro, and British star Tom Daley.

The 22-year-old Briton, who took bronze in Monday’s event with Daniel Goodfellow, was one of those who looked askance at the green water.

“Ermmm… what happened?!” he tweeted, with a photo of the green pool.

This year’s Olympics might possibly be one that’s hard to forget, and it’s all because of some unusual, funny and quirky happenings that have taken place in Rio in the first week alone.

Here are five things about the sports event you may have missed.

1. A blue-coloured pool of water that turned murky green

During the women’s 10m synchronised diving final on Tuesday (Aug 9), the blue pool at Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre turned into a “green abyss” as competitors progressed through their dives. Just a day before on Monday (Aug 8), Telegraph reported that the pool was still blue for the men’s event of the same category and only turned to a murky green the next day.

Ermmm…what happened?! pic.twitter.com/pdta7EpP2k

— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) August 9, 2016

But, there’s nothing to wory about, apparently. A spokesman for the Rio 2016 organisers said that the committee is investigating the situation and assured that the pool isn’t “toxic or dirty”.

2. Why athletes have red circular spots on their bodies

If you’ve caught some of the events, you might have noticed that some athletes like US swimmer Michael Phelps and gymnast Alexander Naddour have circular red spots on parts of their body. No, they didn’t get beaten up or contract a strange disease.

The marks are simply due to a traditional Chinese medicine technique known as cupping, which originated from China about 3,000 years ago. Cupping involves heating suction cups and placing them on parts of the body which are sore, in order to improve blood flow. It eventually leaves red marks on the skin but thankfully, they aren’t permanent.

Nonetheless, it sure looked like Phelps fell asleep on his multiple medals.

3. The Internet sensation who didn’t know she won the bronze medal

If there was a medal for the ability to contort one’s face, Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui, 20, would win gold.

But what she did win was the bronze in the women’s 100m backstroke final on Monday (Aug 8), even though she only found out much later.

In a post-event interview with a reporter, Fu was told that she clocked 58.95 seconds in her event. She said: “I thought I did 59 seconds! Wow! I was so fast! I am very satisfied!”

She also claimed that she had “prehistoric powers” which helped her in her events.  Well, maybe she was channeling the tenacity of a megalodon or the slickness of a plesiosaur.

In any case, these powers sure helped her become an overnight Internet meme.

4. Accidental porn stars and unfortunate censors

Some athletes fell victim to an accidental error of having info-bars on TV broadcasts placed right below their bellies which made them look naked on screen.

It’s so weird for these Olympic divers to dive in the nude. Bravo to NBC figuring out a way to censor the nudity. pic.twitter.com/bisSgDZtsw

— Sean (@Seanye_West_32) August 9, 2016

Great Britain’s Tom Daley and USA’s Steele Johnson were part of the unfortunate “accident” that inadvertently censored their swimming trunks, making them the centre of jokes trending on Twitter.

Best part of the #Olympics #Diving?
When the information bar makes them look naked:#Rio2016 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/36E7E1HBcq

— Adam R (@MrAdamR) August 8, 2016

Future Olympic committees might want to review info-bars placements so viewers don’t get all jittery over nothing. Maybe make the info-bars see-through?

5. The 2 sensational Filippino divers who are greatly missed

In case you forgot, these two divers from the Philippines made headlines during the Southeast Asian Games last year for all the wrong reasons.

The Filipino National Diving Team Is AWFUL at diving pic.twitter.com/xYzdMREtg5

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 8, 2016

John Elmerson Fabriga and John David Pahoyo were captured TV cameras for their atrocious backflips which landed them a grand total of zero points from all seven judges.

The duo were named the “favourite team” in Rio this year despite their non-appearance, reported Telegraph.

Looks like athletes don’t need to be at the Olympics to be famous in Rio.

stephluo@sph.com.sg

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AFP, Reuters, The Straits Times

RIO DE JANEIRO – A bus carrying Rio Olympics journalists came under attack Tuesday but it was not immediately clear whether two shattered windows were caused by bullets or stones, a reporter on the vehicle said.

A Belarus journalist suffered a cut hand in the incident, near Rio de Janeiro’s notorious City of God favela, Gaston Sainz of the Argentinian daily La Nacion, who was on the bus, told AFP.

The incident came after a bullet hit a media centre and landed near a New Zealand team official on Saturday.

“We threw ourselves to the floor and two kilometers later the police came and escorted us to the main press centre with the broken windows,” Sainz said.

“Two impacts on the right side of the bus shattered two windows. A reporter from Belarus suffered a cut hand. There is confusion as to whether it was bullets or stones,” the reporter said.

The bus was carrying journalists returning from the Deodoro Olympic district to the main press centre at Barra da Tijuca.

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AFP, Reuters, The Straits Times