Singapore decides no one worthy of top sportsman

The sorry state of men's sport in Singapore was thrown into sharp focus when organisers failed to honour a Sportsman of the Year for the first time since the nation's annual awards began more than 40 years ago.

The judging panel considered its list of nominees but chose not to bestow the honour for the first time since 1967 because none of the shortlisted athletes was deemed worthy.

"We felt that the performance of the men could have been better and decided not to make an award this year," said Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) President Teo Chee Hean.



"The standard of Singapore sports has gone up ... we do expect more from our athletes now," he told local media.

SNOC Secretary-General Chris Chan agreed it had been a disappointing year.

"Unfortunately, it was a bad year; none of them really achieved anything noteworthy of the standard to be Sportsman of the Year," he said.