Hangzhou 2022: Athletes pick up the whistle for Asiad adventure

By Jeremiah Ong

Team Singapore sent a record-breaking contingent of 427 athletes to the 19th Asian Games, competing across 32 sports for medal glory. Yet, in Hangzhou, they aren’t the only ones flying the Singapore flag high. 

Behind the sporting drama and medal glory, a staple of every multi-sport event like the Asian Games, the work of international technical officials can often go unseen.

However, the sheer number of officials involved across the 40 sports featured at the Games showed just how important of a role they play.

Nearly 4,000 technical officials descended on Hangzhou’s shores, almost as many as the 5,000 international media personnel covering the Games.

These individuals, however, are not driven by the glamour of the podium nor are they attracted to the media spotlight, diligently discharging their duties in major sporting events all over the globe.

Hockey player-turned-international umpire Lim Hong Zhen is a veteran of the scene having been to the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. He is in Hangzhou for his third Asiad.

“The saying goes ‘No Officials, No Game’ cannot be more true. As much as a team (or its) athletes can bring the game to life with some superb skills on display, a good official can also bring the game to life by ensuring and maintaining a very high standard of officiating that is fair yet firm,” the 38-year-old said.

Lim posing outside the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium. (Photo: SportSG/ Andy Chua)

Lim started umpiring internationally in 2007 but had already cut his teeth at the local level since 2004 when he was still on the national team.

Having started playing hockey in secondary school, Lim found himself sidelined from the national team while attending polytechnic, after sustaining a dislocated elbow in a cycling accident.

But he stayed with the team, assisting his coach in duties on and off the pitch.

“One day during the men’s national team A vs national team B game, my national coach, then, threw me a whistle and told me to just help out officiating and I got ‘hooked’ on it and the rest is history, I guess that’s how the saying goes,” Lim recounted.

Since then, his officiating duties have taken him around the world, with stints at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Cups.

His most memorable competition? The 2016 Rio Olympics. 

“The games were just fantastic! People (and food) were amazing and everything was just so unreal thinking back today I still feel so blessed to be part of the whole Olympic experience. Now I really cannot wait for Paris 2024!”

In 2020, Lim was recognised for his service to the sport, becoming the first and only Singaporean to be awarded the FIH (International Hockey Federation) Golden Whistle Award for umpiring 100 international matches, cementing himself as one of the best in the world.

Having racked up an impressive resume over the years, the 38-year-old remained ambivalent about his future with the retirement age as an international hockey umpire at 47. 

“Let’s see what the sport brings me in the coming years! I still have nine years to go before retirement but nobody knows,” he said.

He was joined by fellow Singaporean hockey umpire, Cookie Tan, at Hangzhou’s Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium.

The former hockey player lived and breathed the sport having gone through the youth ranks up to the senior squad. She retired at the age of 31 but could not find it in her to leave the sport.

“I want to still be (a) part of hockey -  my passion and hobby - thus the decision to take the less travelled ‘path’ to umpire instead of coaching (due to my full-time job),” Tan said.

Tan posing at the warmup of a women’s hockey match at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium. (Photo: Cookie Tan)

With ten years of officiating experience under her belt, coupled with two Asiads, Tan’s greatest achievement is being the first Singapore female hockey umpire to be appointed at the Women’s Hockey World Cup in 2022 and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“That moment made me realise that dreams do come true when we dream big, especially for someone coming from a country where our hockey team is ranked 32nd in the world.”

Another official who is championing the cause for greater female representation in her sport is rugby referee Christabelle Lim.

Lim was a late entrant to the sport having picked it up in her university when she was 19 but was part of the national set-up for eight years, before switching the ball for a whistle and adopting a calmer approach.

Lim posing next to the goal post at the Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Athletics Field. (Photo: Christabelle Lim)

“As an athlete, you go through a whole range of emotions on the field, elation when you score, despair when you miss a tackle, and determination to get it back, but as an official, we pretty much have to remain the most calm on the pitch even when the intensity levels and tensions rise,” the 35-year-old said.

Despite having to keep a level head on the pitch, Lim is still impassioned about the cause for greater female representation in rugby officiating.

“(My role as an official is a vital one because of) the need for representation as a female match official in the region. I hope that by achieving what I can by officiating, I can inspire other female athletes to pick up the whistle in future,” she said.

For gymnast-turned-judge, Hoe Wah Toon, being an official centred on giving back.

Team Singapore’s flagbearer at the 2018 Asiad, Hoe had already been training for his FIG (Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique) judging licence in 2017 and is now back to this third Asiad but as an official this time.

“Having been exposed to gymnastics since I was seven and spending so many hours growing up with the sport, it has inevitably become a part of me. Now that I’m older and retired from competing, I do want to give back to the sport as it has given me so much,” the 2014 Commonwealth vault bronze medallist said.

Hoe (third from right) with fellow judges from other countries at Hangzhou’s Huanglong Sports Centre Gymnasium. (Photo: Hoe Wah Toon)

As his 22-year career came to an end, Hoe knew the only way to continue to be a part of the community was to either be a coach or a judge.

Now, Hoe does both. 

Coaching part-time on top of his day job as a dentist, Hoe still favours his officiating duties as it allows him to travel to major Games, something that he was familiar with as an athlete.

“My biggest takeaway is that I do love gymnastics. I like watching the sport, competing, and even officiating. This transition has just proven to me that I can still be a part of this sport even though I am unable to compete anymore.”

Also at the Huanglong Sports Centre Gymnasium judging table are former national gymnasts Lim Heem Wei and Ashly Lau.

For multiple SEA Games medallist Lim, becoming a judge was “a very natural transition”, having taken the test toward the end of her gymnastics career, similar to Hoe.

“I plan and hope to continue contributing back to the sport that has given me so much in my younger days,” the former Olympian added.

Lau, who was due to debut at the 2014 Asiad with Lim but missed out due to injury, was thankful to finally make her Games debut but in a different capacity this time.

Her decision to go from athlete to judge was as instinctive as it was simple.

“I'd always been intrigued at how our scores were determined, so when the opportunity came up to go for the judging course I took it. It was not too long after I'd stopped training, so it also seemed like a good way to still be involved with gymnastics in some way,” the SEA Games silver medallist said.

As a former athlete, she could relate to the effort spent training the same routines and that serves as a constant reminder of her vital role as a judge to award accurate scores to competing gymnasts.

For the three judges, this is only the beginning of a budding career in officiating.

“(I see myself officiating) for a while. This experience has been rewarding so far and there's still lots that I want to learn,” Lau said.

Lim and Lau posing at the Huanglong Sports Centre Gymnasium. (Photo: Lim Heem Wei)

Calling on other athletes to consider the route towards officiating, Lau described her journey as a rewarding one.

“I realised just how much work is done behind the scenes to support the athletes and to build the gymnastics programme in Singapore. It made me really grateful for the support I had when I was training, so now I hope to find ways that I can pay it back,” she said.

The 19th Asian Games are held in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October 2023. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.