POHS' SILVER TRIBUTE TO GRANDAD

Indoor skydiving sisters Kyra, Vera honour late grandfather with World Cup medal

- Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

The team of (clockwise, from top left) Isabelle Koh, Kai Minejima-Lee, Jordan Lee, Vera Poh, Kyra Poh and Choo Yi Xuan with the medals that saw Singapore top the standings at the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving.

(PHOTO ANTONIN GRENIER)

Even before the winners’ trophies and medals, indoor skydivers and sisters Kyra and Vera Poh’s biggest fan was their grandfather Sunny Teo.

He was a constant presence at training and competitions, and his pride for his granddaughters was evident — he would cut out, laminate and display newspaper articles featuring them on his walls at home, even keeping copies in his car for his friends to read.

Teo always hoped that the siblings would compete together one day, but he died in 2017 before he got to witness it.

His wish was finally fulfilled in 2021, when they first competed together at the Belgium Open Indoor Skydiving Championship.

On April 4, their partnership took another big step as they competed as a duo on the world stage for the first time, claiming silver in the two-way dynamic open event at the 6th FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving.

Older sister Kyra, 24, said: “Even back when we were just starting out, he (Teo) was always so excited for us and so invested in what we were doing.