Singapore Smash 2023: A Showcase of The Sport’s Development and Growth

The Singapore Smash 2023 is underway and table tennis’s best athletes deliver a spectacular show, exciting surprises and several young talents triumphing in the spotlight. The drama on infinity ∞ Arena has also captivated audiences around the world with a cumulative global audience of 48.3 million and a cumulative reach of 150.5 million viewers tuning in to daily games to date.

While the inaugural Singapore Smash took place last year, it took place amid Covid restrictions. With all restrictions lifted, the Singapore Sports Hub has come alive this year with all the programming intended, allowing fans and players to enjoy the true essence of a smash event. Singapore Smash 2023 not only showcases the best table tennis players in the world, but also serves as a platform for nurturing young talent and engaging the community, solidifying the country’s status as a hub for world-class sporting events.

This year the event is also hosting the Hopes Squad. The Hopes Squad is made up of a team of 20 aspiring male and female players (aged 10-13) who have shown a consistent commitment to training and competing. Planned activities will be offered to players and their coaches throughout the year as part of the development path, with the first event in 2023 being an intensive training camp taking place from 9-15 March at the Singapore Sports School.

In addition to the training camp, the squad was also able to experience the mechanics behind the scenes of the Singapore Smash, giving them an exclusive look at a world-class table tennis event. They also got to interact with their sporting idols and step out onto the infinity ∞ Arena as player escorts. Another four spots were also awarded to Singaporean athletes Loy Ming Ying, Chanelle Chiang, Tristan Yee and Benaiah Seah, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of the host city of Singapore.

No. 7 in the men’s world, Truls Moregard (SWE), taking part in this week’s Singapore Smash, is a Hopes Squad alumnus, along with Singapore’s Izaac Quek, who has made an amazing run to the last 16 men’s singles. Other notable alumni include world No. 14 Adriana Diaz (PUR), talented 15-year-old Hana Goda (EGY) and Zhou Jingyi from Singapore, who was part of the gold-winning women’s team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

It has been 10 years for Moregard since he took part in the Hopes programme, but the 21-year-old still has fond memories of his experience.

He said: “I remember it was very funny; It was also difficult for me because it was in English at a very young age and you really have to open up to be in the group. But it’s great fun, you meet a lot of personalities and make a lot of new friends. I still have many friends from the Hopes program, we were very young and we are still friends. So, of course, traveling to tournaments helps you in your table tennis journey, both in your table tennis career and to meet people and feel at home. The biggest realization for me was that it developed my table tennis game further. It was 10 years ago but I remember it was a lot of fun.”

A Hopes graduate with more recent memories is teenager Hana Goda, who won the ITTF Africa Cup in May 2022 and became the youngest-ever Continental Cup winner at 14 years and 167 days. The 15-year-old plays here at the Singapore Smash, the biggest event of her young career, and she recalls finishing second in her freshman year and winning the title the next year.

She said: “If it wasn’t for Hopes my table tennis journey would have been different but it was a really nice start and I learned a lot from it. Getting to know the other players was a highlight – we bonded really well and we’re still talking now; we became good friends.”

The participants of this year’s Hopes Squad are not the only young players who were able to experience the table tennis stars up close. This week, players from the Singapore Table Tennis Association’s Junior Development and Youth Development Squads were joined by 2021 World Youth Champion and world No. 31 Xiang Peng (CHN) and world No. 26 Lee Sangsu (KOR) during a training session Instructed at the OCBC Arena. About 60 kids visited Hall 2, one of the Singapore Smash’s competition halls, as well as the Practice Hall, where they got a glimpse of the sport’s top athletes honing their craft. There they conducted drills and rallied with both players.

Outside of the OCBC Arena, members of the wider Singapore community will also enjoy the benefits of Singapore Smash 2023 with a whole range of activities planned to engage the public and promote the sport here. The Singapore Smash Zone, located outside of OCBC Square in Kallang Wave Mall, is free for all and has tables set up for visitors to try their hand at table tennis. Group competitions for different age groups are also ongoing, with the total number of entries increasing from more than 100 last year to over 260 this year. A new competitive category for para athletes was also introduced this year, building on last year’s successful showcase of national para athletes.

There will also be a showcase from the non-profit group Table Tennis For Good, which aims to use table tennis to benefit the brain and overall health while having fun while playing. Table Tennis For Good, which has achieved charity status, returns to the Singapore Smash Zone on March 16th to showcase its table tennis programs – for seniors and for people with Parkinson’s disease. The Singapore Smash Zone thus enables even more people to play table tennis, regardless of age, origin and ability.

Singapore Smash 2023 runs through March 19, with fun battles to watch at Infinity ∞ Arena (Hall 1) and Hall 2 at OCBC Arena at Singapore Sports Hub. Singapore’s Izaac Quek wowed home fans with his historic run to the round of 16 in men’s singles, meeting men’s world No. 3 Wang Chuqin (CHN) on Wednesday night, March 15. Draws, results and schedules are available at singaporesmash.com. Tickets are available at https://ticketmaster.sg/activity/detail/23_sgsmash2023.