S'pore teams to learn from 'valuable' exposure

Singapore have been regional water polo kingpins, winning 27 consecutive titles at the SEA Games since 1965 — the streak was broken in 2019 but they recaptured their crown in Phnom Penh in 2023.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

But, in the next few weeks, the men's national team will be the minnows when the world's best come to town for the World Aquatics Championships.

At world No. 38, the debutants are the lowest ranked among the 16 teams competing at the OCBC Aquatic Centre from July 11 to 24.

The women's tournament kicks off on July 11, followed by the men a day later. The Singapore men are in Group C with world No. 6 and 2024 Olympic bronze medallists United States, as well as Brazil (10th) and Canada (13th).

Their preparations included friendly matches against Australian state teams and clubs, as well as the Australian national team in March.

In June, they competed in China against Chinese provincial teams, and Japan's national team and university sides in Yokohama.

Captain Lee Kai Yang, 30, said those matches have already shown that things are different "in every aspect of the game".

Lee, who was in the 2015, 2017 and 2023 teams who won the SEA Games gold, added: "Every player on every team (at the world championships level) can hit top speed.