Singapore sailors Rachel Lee and Cecilia Low en route to gold in the Women's Double Handed Dinghy 420 at the 16th Asian Games in China, 2010. (Photo By Jin Dawei/ColorChinaPhoto)

The Republic’s sailors swept the bulk of major accolades at the annual Singapore Sports Awards held Tuesday evening at the Singapore Expo.

Junior Team of the Year went to the only finalist in contention, the National Sailing Optimist Team, while the senior 420 Women’s Team pipped Singapore’s more vaunted female bowlers and paddlers to Team of the Year (Event) honours.

With about 400 guests in attendance, sailing coach Fernando Javier Alegre Arbulu then won Coach of the Year and sailor Elisa Yukie Yokoyama was named Sportsgirl of the Year to give the relatively unheralded sport four out of seven key awards.

The rest were snapped up by bowler Keith Saw (Sportsboy of the Year), the national football men’s squad (Team of the Year for Team Sport) and Olympic bronze medal-winning table tennis ace Feng Tianwei (Sportswoman of the Year).

Singapore football players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Thailand during their AFF Suzuki football Cup final second leg in Bangkok last year. Singapore beat Thailand 3-2. (AFP PHOTO / PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKU)

“It’s an awesome feat for sailing,” said Jessie Phua, chairperson of the Singapore Sports Awards organising committee. “But they deserve it, they’ve worked hard…

Rafael Nadal won a historic eighth title at the French Open on Sunday night but curiously woke up this morning having dropped a place in the world rankings.
By Tramlines (Original post by Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here.)

Even more gallingly for the King of Clay, the man who has replaced him in fourth in the ATP rankings is David Ferrer, his compatriot whom he dispatched 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the final at Roland Garros.

“It’s strange, no?” Ferrer said. “I lost the final against Rafael, but tomorrow, I’ll be No. 4. Anyway, I would change. I prefer to win here and to stay No. 5.”

The rather bizarre situation may have dire implications for Nadal ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on June 24, as he could well be seeded fifth in line with his ATP status. Wimbledon decide their own seedings but last year they mirrored the ATP standings identically.

If he is fifth seed then Nadal is likely to face one of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray in the quarter-finals, and may have to play all three of his big rivals in succession if he is to win Wimbledon for a third time.

The reason for Nadal slipping a place despite his crushing victory over Ferrer is

Work in progress at the National Stadium, due for completion in April 2014 along with the Singapore Sports Hub. (Yahoo! Photo)

The highly-anticipated Singapore Sports Hub moved a step closer to realisation as the roof of its new National Stadium took shape with the installation of the highest truss.

At 77.5 metres above pitch level, the completed support framework represents a “significant milestone” in the development of the Sports Hub, which is targeting an April 2014 finish, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong.

Speaking at a site visit on Monday, Wong reminded reporters that the sprawling, 35-hectare facility “is not an ordinary commercial project”.

“The Sports Hub is a national icon,” he said. “Many of us growing up with the old National Stadium have fond memories going there.”

Added Wong: “I hope that with the new National Stadium and Sports Hub, we can create even better memories for a new generation of Singaporeans.”

The Minister also reiterated that in order to retain “national identity and character”, the overall Sports Hub and its National Stadium would not be up for

By The Rundown (Original post by Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here.)

Tiger Woods is once again the world's best-paid athlete after reclaiming golf's number one ranking, according to Forbes.

Woods had total earnings of $78 million (£50.34m) over the past year - $65 million (£42m) in endorsements and the remainder from appearance and prize money, Forbes said in its annual sporting survey.

The American returned to the top of golf's rankings in March for the first time since October 2010.

A number of sponsors had abandoned Woods after he was involved in an adultery scandal that broke in 2009 but sportswear company Nike was among those that stood by him.

Woods had topped the Forbes list every year from 2001 until boxer Floyd Mayweather deposed him last year.

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer was second in the new list, making more than $71 million (£45.89m) since June 2012.

US basketball players Kobe Bryant and LeBron James took the next two slots.

Mayweather slipped to 14th after fighting only

Ethan prepares to unleash a forehand (Longines)

The backdrop: Roland Garros, France.

The scene: The Longines Future Tennis Aces 2013 tournament.

The participants: 16 tennis players from all over the world aged under 13.

Enter 11 year-old Ethan Lye Kai Xin, Singapore’s sole representative at the tournament played in the heart of Paris and held in conjunction with the French Open.

His mission? To make it big as a professional tennis player, of course.

Nevermind that he didn’t make it past the first round of the tournament. This reserved but sharp-eyed young man has already done more than most 11 year-old local players, let alone most boys his age.

The players await the results of the draw in Paris (Longines)
A year ago, Ethan uprooted to Thailand to take up a tennis and study scholarship with the Prem Tinsulanonda International School in Chiangmai. He was to train full-time at their Three Generation Tennis Academy.

At first, his parents Moses and Vera, both 42, tried to get him into the Singapore Tennis Association’s (STA) S$500,000 Full-Time Tennis Program (FTTP) to groom two promising junior players,

China's Lin Dan celebrates winning his men's singles badminton gold medal match against Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Wembley Arena (Eurosport)

China's superstar shuttler Lin Dan has withdrawn from this month's Li-Ning Singapore Open, citing injury.

The two-time Olympic champion, 29, has also pulled out of the Indonesian Open next week.

The last time he competed at the Singapore SuperSeries event was during the 2011 edition, when he gave compatriot Chen Jin a walkover in the men's singles final, after a bout of illness.  He didn't play in the event last year.

Lin, who is ranked 68th in the world, was arguably the biggest draw of the annual tournament. But he said he wasn't a hundred percent fit and needed a rest.

"I injured myself during the Badminton Asia Championship and have not fully recovered. After playing the preliminary rounds of the China National Games, I found myself not in the best condition for tournaments and I want to focus on recuperating myself for the World Championship in August."

As a result of Lin's withdrawal, Singapore No.2 men’s shuttler Ashton Chen was promoted to the qualifying round of the

Nazri Nasir (centre) with his sons Adam (left) and Amer (right). (Photo: 25th Canon Lion City Cup)

All fathers want their sons to excel. Nazri Nasir, former captain of Singapore’s national football team, is no different.

The 42-year-old, now coach of the local National Football Academy (NFA) Under-15s, hopes to see his sons Adam and Amer Hakeem pull on the red-and-white of Singapore some day.

“It will be a dream come true,” said Nazri, who has amassed over 100 caps for Singapore. “Both playing as centre backs, Adam on the left and Amer on the right.”

The dream is not too far off. With 1.92m-tall Adam, 16, turning out for the NFA U-16s and Amer assuming vice-captaincy for his father’s side, it seems only a matter of time before they receive call-ups to the full senior squad.

And Nazri told Yahoo! Singapore on Thursday evening that he will do whatever it takes to support the cause, including sending them to play in Europe. But he has one condition – that they prioritise their academic pursuits as well.

“If there’s any chance they can get a scholarship to play and study in Europe, or even

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) has rejected SingTel's application for a stay on and Media Development Authority (MDA) ruling that requires the telco to share broadcast rights to the Barclays Premier League (BPL). This means that SingTel is required to make the necessary arrangements to cross-carry the upcoming BPL season on StarHub's payTV services.

In a media statement today, MCI Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said the MDA's decision was made based on a number of factors.

These included an evaluation of the grounds for SingTel's appeal against MDA's ruling and its impact on SingTel and the public.

Starhub Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Jeannie Ong, welcomed the move and said, “Considerable time is needed to prepare for cross-carriage, including the laying of fibre, purchase and testing of new equipment, testing and delivery of broadcast signals, and provisioning to customers. A delay in implementation would have made it