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“A POSITIVE CHANGE”
National climber Luke Goh, 21, did not qualify for this year’s Games too, but told CNA that he feels even more pumped about his future chances.
“It gets taken more seriously because it’s in the Olympics now, and I’m really glad that over the years, we’ve seen this huge growth in climbing and how climbing is perceived in the general public. So it is a positive change,” he added.
At the Olympics, sport climbing involves three formats – bouldering, speed and lead.
Now that it is part of the Olympics and the Asian Games, Goh hopes it will also make its way to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The next edition of the regional event will take place in Thailand next year.
“If we just look at it, the SEA Games prepares (athletes) for the Asian Games, the Asian Games prepares (them) for Olympics. Obviously, it will be a very good stepping stone for athletes looking to take their competitive journey to the next level,” noted Goh, who was crowned champion of last year’s Southeast Asian Boulder League.
In terms of Singapore’s prowess, Goh said its sport climbing athletes can “definitely get medals”.
“I don’t really doubt our capability in that. It will be hard work regardless, but I’m pretty sure we can,” he added.
Nevertheless, he said the baby steps also matter – like finding more ways to get people interested and excited about the sport, along with having better climbing facilities in Singapore.
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