Top Accolades At Singapore Sports Awards
Singapore Sports Awards 2024
It was a memorable evening at the Singapore Sports Awards as alumni Darren Ong Wei Siong and Veronica Shanti Pereira, alongside current student-athlete Zeanne Law Zhi Ning, claimed three out of the four top honours of the night. 13 out of the 18 past and present student-athletes who were finalists across 6 categories of the annual ceremony went home with an award on 3 June 2024.
Zeanne Law, who was named Sportsgirl of the Year, capped off an exciting 2023, where she took part in two Major Games, namely the 32nd SEA Games and Asian Games, with a world champion title in Women’s Taijiquan at the 16th World Wushu Championships in Texas, United States. She won respect and admiration for making an indelible mark in the 13-strong field. Zeanne also won a silver in Women’s Duilian with post-secondary student-athlete Zoe Tan Ziyi and alumna Kimberly Ong Li Ling. For her outstanding achievements, Zeanne was honoured with the 2023 International Wushu Federation Wushu Taolu (set routine) Rising Star Award in January 2024.
Expressing her gratitude for the Sportsgirl of the Year accolade, Zeanne said, “Receiving this award made me more certain of what I’m doing. While I’m grateful for this recognition, it reminds me to continue perfecting my craft and redefine what’s possible for me in Wushu.”
Bowler Darren Ong received the Sportsman of the Year award. Darren won the Men’s Singles title at the International Bowling Federation World Championships in Kuwait last October. Besides being named World Champion, he also won two bronzes at the event. Darren, who is the first bowler to receive the award since 2007, shared his gratitude with The Straits Times: “This (award) is not just for myself but my family and the entire bowling community... It’s a privilege to be the one to win the award because it’s been a long time since the award has been won by a bowler. It’s definitely been a breakout year for me and a lot of the achievements haven’t quite sunk in yet, especially this award.”
Veronica Shanti Pereira received the Sportswoman of the Year accolade following a stellar 2023, marked by historic victories at the Cambodia SEA Games and Asian Games in the Women’s 100m and 200m events. She also reached the semi-finals of the World Championships and set new national records multiple times throughout the season.
Wushu exponents Jowen Lim Si Wei and Kimberly Ong Li Ling were finalists in the Sportsman of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year categories.
Our young bowlers were also honoured with the Sportsboy/Sportsgirl Team of the Year (Event) accolade for their impressive performance at the 22nd Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships. The team consisted of Lim Shi En, Nur Irdina Hazly, Nura Salsabila Zulkifli, Brian Ngoi Kai Ren, John Yong-Ming Faragalla and Ryan Goi Chee Hean.
Lim Shi En, who won four golds at the Asian Junior Championships and was a finalist for the Sportsgirl of the Year award shared, “Receiving the award is a dream come true for my team. It has given the team and me a sense of pride and accomplishment as our years of hard work and training have paid off. We are grateful to our coaches for believing in us and helping us achieve this dream.”
RECIPIENTS OF SINGAPORE SPORTS AWARDS 2024
Sportsman of the Year
Darren Ong (Bowling)
Sportswoman of the Year
Veronica Shanti Pereira (Athletics)
Sportsgirl of the Year
Zeanne Law Zhi Ning (Wushu)
Team of the Year (Event)
Women’s Bowling Team (2023 World Bowling Championships)
Charmaine Chang Yu Qian, Colleen Pee, New Hui Fen, and Daphne Tan Shi Jing
Sportsboy/Sportsgirl Team of the Year (Event)
Bowling Junior Team (22nd Junior Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships)
Lim Shi En, Nur Irdina Hazly, Nura Salsabila Zulkifli, Brian Ngoi Kai Ren, John Yong-Ming Faragalla and Ryan Goi Chee Hean
Photo Credit: Singapore National Olympic Council
Zeanne Law, who was named Sportsgirl of the Year, capped off an exciting 2023, where she took part in two Major Games, namely the 32nd SEA Games and Asian Games, with a world champion title in Women’s Taijiquan at the 16th World Wushu Championships in Texas, United States. She won respect and admiration for making an indelible mark in the 13-strong field. Zeanne also won a silver in Women’s Duilian with post-secondary student-athlete Zoe Tan Ziyi and alumna Kimberly Ong Li Ling. For her outstanding achievements, Zeanne was honoured with the 2023 International Wushu Federation Wushu Taolu (set routine) Rising Star Award in January 2024.
Expressing her gratitude for the Sportsgirl of the Year accolade, Zeanne said, “Receiving this award made me more certain of what I’m doing. While I’m grateful for this recognition, it reminds me to continue perfecting my craft and redefine what’s possible for me in Wushu.”
Bowler Darren Ong received the Sportsman of the Year award. Darren won the Men’s Singles title at the International Bowling Federation World Championships in Kuwait last October. Besides being named World Champion, he also won two bronzes at the event. Darren, who is the first bowler to receive the award since 2007, shared his gratitude with The Straits Times: “This (award) is not just for myself but my family and the entire bowling community... It’s a privilege to be the one to win the award because it’s been a long time since the award has been won by a bowler. It’s definitely been a breakout year for me and a lot of the achievements haven’t quite sunk in yet, especially this award.”
Veronica Shanti Pereira received the Sportswoman of the Year accolade following a stellar 2023, marked by historic victories at the Cambodia SEA Games and Asian Games in the Women’s 100m and 200m events. She also reached the semi-finals of the World Championships and set new national records multiple times throughout the season.
Wushu exponents Jowen Lim Si Wei and Kimberly Ong Li Ling were finalists in the Sportsman of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year categories.
Our young bowlers were also honoured with the Sportsboy/Sportsgirl Team of the Year (Event) accolade for their impressive performance at the 22nd Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships. The team consisted of Lim Shi En, Nur Irdina Hazly, Nura Salsabila Zulkifli, Brian Ngoi Kai Ren, John Yong-Ming Faragalla and Ryan Goi Chee Hean.
Lim Shi En, who won four golds at the Asian Junior Championships and was a finalist for the Sportsgirl of the Year award shared, “Receiving the award is a dream come true for my team. It has given the team and me a sense of pride and accomplishment as our years of hard work and training have paid off. We are grateful to our coaches for believing in us and helping us achieve this dream.”
RECIPIENTS OF SINGAPORE SPORTS AWARDS 2024
Sportsman of the Year
Darren Ong (Bowling)
Sportswoman of the Year
Veronica Shanti Pereira (Athletics)
Sportsgirl of the Year
Zeanne Law Zhi Ning (Wushu)
Team of the Year (Event)
Women’s Bowling Team (2023 World Bowling Championships)
Charmaine Chang Yu Qian, Colleen Pee, New Hui Fen, and Daphne Tan Shi Jing
Sportsboy/Sportsgirl Team of the Year (Event)
Bowling Junior Team (22nd Junior Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships)
Lim Shi En, Nur Irdina Hazly, Nura Salsabila Zulkifli, Brian Ngoi Kai Ren, John Yong-Ming Faragalla and Ryan Goi Chee Hean
