Singapore rallies for the road to Kuala Lumpur 2017

Team Singapore athletes past and present joined the Singapore leg of “Rising Together – Baton Run”, held in conjunction with the 29^th Southeast Asian Games and 9^th ASEAN Para Games.

The relay involved Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu, and Malaysian Minister for Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, along with Singapore's sporting heroes across generations, including Shanti Pereira, Yip Pin Xiu, and Ang Peng Siong.

Minister Fu and Minister Khairy kicked off the 18km run from *SCAPE, a hub for youth development in the heart of the city. Accompanying them on the first leg were young student-athletes from the Singapore Sports School, volunteers from Team Nila and SportCares participants.

The baton then made its way through the circuit, passing iconic cultural and sporting landmarks such as Istana Park, the Singapore Sports Hub, the Merlion Park and The Arts House, before returning to *SCAPE. The baton relay demonstrated the vibrancy of Singapore's sporting landscape by bringing together around 1,000 participants, including past, present and future Team Singapore athletes, as well as sports volunteers and enthusiasts.

Said Minister Fu, “Sports has this unique ability to bring people together. The SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games have been able to bring different countries in Southeast Asia together to celebrate sport. Our Team Singapore athletes are training very hard - we're all strongly behind you as One Team Singapore. We look forward to a fantastic showing by our athletes.”

The baton relay is the first of its kind in SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games history. Beginning in March, the baton has passed through the capital cities of nine other Southeast Asian countries, with Singapore as the final stop. After the baton arrives in host country Malaysia, it will be switched to a torch. The torch relay will continue through all the Malaysian states before concluding in Kuala Lumpur on 19 August for the 29^th SEA Games opening ceremony.