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A history of National School Games Upstarts Challenging Traditional Order

by ActiveSG Circle, on April 19, 2023

A fascinating element in sports tournaments is the underdogs having their day in the spotlight following an upset against the giants in the event.

In the history of the National School Games (NSG), there is plenty of such documentation in these giant-killing triumphs as the underdogs overcame the traditional powerhouses in major finals.

While they were undoubtedly the highlights in their schools’ respective sporting history, some gained the impetus to eventually establish their dominance in their niche sports.

(Photo: Team Nila Content Producer Ken Chia)

In the history of school sports from the 1920s, the local powerhouses have traditionally come from schools with lengthy educational and sports heritage, notably Raffles Institution, Hwa Chong Institution (formerly The Chinese High School at secondary school level), Anglo-Chinese School, Victoria School and Nanyang Girls’ High School.

The entry of a sports-dedicated education institution in the Singapore Sports School from the 2000s saw them quickly emerge as strong challengers to the established order and establish themselves as powerhouses in some.

(Photo Credit: Singapore Sports School)

Thus the achievement of a “non-traditional” school achieves an upset victory in the final rounds of the NSG, it makes national sporting headlines. And it is no different in the ongoing 2023 season.

An early documentation of such an upset after independence came in August 1973 when the unheralded Whampoa English School upset the previously-dominant St. Andrew’s School in swimming, sweeping four of the six titles on offer in the boys’ and girls’ events in the McNair District Championships.

Fast forward to five decades later, there was a notable upset in the NSG 2023 track and field championships at Choa Chu Kang Stadium when the School of the Arts, an institution more renowned in nurturing graduates for the local arts and creative industry, had its first national sports champion on 15 April.

With her school not offering athletics as a co-curricular activity, Anmiela Kagoro trained on her own with personal coaches four times a week. In her NSG debut, she stunned the competition by dominating the 80-metre hurdles ‘C’ Division event and eventually won the final in 13.29 seconds.

Like the upsets of yesteryears, her triumph showed that with the talent and right training even with the lack of school resources in the sport, individual fairytales can happen. Such moments enrich those schools’ sporting heritage outside of the traditional sporting powerhouses.

Stunning debut triumphs aside, there are schools who have been building their craft in the niche sports and grafting out competitive results before they finally reach the top and emerge as champions.

Greenridge Secondary and Outram Secondary had been competitive in rugby and water polo respectively before they emerged as national school champions after prevailing against strong competition in their respective sports.

Greenridge won their first national schools rugby title in 1985 and made national headlines seven years later when they stunned Raffles in the earlier rounds and defeated traditional rugby powerhouses St. Andrew’s 6-3 in the ‘C’ Division main final.

Active in the schools’ water polo circuit for several years, Outram Secondary lifted their first national championship when they stunned ACS(Independent) 6-5 in the National ‘B’ Division final on 3 April 2013. They would eventually win a second national title in the sport against the same opponents four years later.

This season, sepaktakraw saw a first-time national champion on 10 March 2023 when Bartley Secondary, which had previously made headlines of Khairul Amri’s hat-trick in a schools’ football final, finally came out tops with a 2-1 win over Woodlands Secondary in the ‘B’ Division boys’ final.

For their 38-year-old coach Rithwan Kassim, it was a moment to cherish as he helped his former school finally reach top of the podium. That was a far cry from his student days more than two decades ago where they were dominant in the zonals but never got past the early rounds in the NSG.

Since the turn of the millennium, more schools were standing shoulder to shoulder with the traditional giants of several sports, writing new chapters in school sports history.

Previously unknown in football, Tanjong Katong Secondary laid the foundations for a new era in schools football when they stunned defending champions Hong Kah Secondary 1-0 in the ‘B’ Division boys’ final at Jalan Besar Stadium on 27 July 2016.

It has rubbed off in the Meridian Secondary girls’ football team seven years later when they claimed ‘B’ Division girls’ football title for the first time after overcoming Tampines Secondary 3-1 on penalties following a goalless draw in regulation time at Bedok Stadium on 8 March.

Their success at this level came after their juniors claimed their maiden ‘C’ Division girls’ title last year following a 6-3 upset victory over traditional girls’ football stronghold Queensway Secondary at Jalan Besar Stadium on 15 August 2022.

All these uplifting sports triumphs, past and present, show that so long their focus and hearts, coupled with burgeoning talent and training, are at the right place, anything is possible in the school sports arena.

Student-athletes, be fearless and give it your all! For you never know when you become the next ones to make these headlines with yet another stunning final triumph in this year’s NSG season and beyond.