Month: August 2021

For Chua Yi Ying, underwater hockey is silent bliss. “Underwater, everything melts away. No one is talking or yelling at you. You won’t hear the same being said of other sports. I find the game so peaceful,” says the final-year sport science student.

Unlike its counterpart played on land, underwater hockey – a stick-and-puck sport played along the bottoms of swimming pools – relies largely on pre-decided modes of play, the 23-year-old explains.

“As a spectator, you probably can’t understand what’s going on. I’ve heard we look like restless fish! But we’re actually in control of what we’re doing as we’ve rehearsed our moves many times before. You can’t hear directions from your teammates, so you have to stick to the formation and the role assigned to you,” says Yi Ying.

“And no, we don’t run underwater with oxygen tanks!” she laughs. “There’s a scuba diving mask, snorkel and mouth guard, but it’s best you learn how to hold your breath well.”

Yi Ying was part of the Singapore contingent that took home four golds in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines. She was picked for the Singapore team only after a year of training. She is also one of the newest members of the only underwater hockey club in Singapore.

“I don’t think age really matters in underwater hockey. The older members are just as fit as us and their years of experience really add to that,” she says. “In fact, I picked up new moves and strategies from them!”

Yi Ying’s oldest teammate in the SEA Games is 50, while the oldest member of the club is 60, a surprising fact that seems out of place in today’s sporting world which prizes youth and agility.

Teamwork is vital, because there’s no way to yell at your teammate to pass you the puck, she explains. It is also one of the main reasons that convinced her to make the dive from competitive swimming to underwater hockey during her time in Temasek Polytechnic.

“Swimming is actually a very lonely sport. When you’re swimming, you’re alone in the water. In underwater hockey, the team is underwater with you. I felt for the first time what it means to be in a team. That feeling of solidarity, and teamwork, made me fall in love with the sport,” she says.

When there’s a will, there’s a wave

Underwater sports in the new normal

Yi Ying plays fewer underwater hockey games, training only on weekends at specific timings, since it’s tougher to secure pool bookings.

“The pool I use is now split into two training zones and each area can only have a maximum of eight players. Although our playing area is reduced and we train in smaller groups, we’re still happy to get a chance to train,” she says.

While waiting for updates on when international competitions can restart, she teaches children and toddlers water survival skills and swimming techniques.

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Aqua girl

This story was published in the Aug-Sep 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.

“When 12 men tussle for a ball filled with saltwater, things can get a little rough,” says underwater rugby player Foo Zi Xiang.

Fortunately, safety is a priority in the game, and violent play is frowned upon.

“The referee is on the lookout for intentional manhandling and will call you out if he sees it. The worst I’ve seen is scratch marks, which happens when we accidentally dig our nails into someone’s hand while trying to grab the ball,” adds the computer science graduate.

Zi Xiang’s foray into underwater sports began during his National Service days when he was enlisted as a naval diver and subsequently discovered freediving. He was later introduced to the underwater rugby scene, then a burgeoning one.

Good breath-hold and being comfortable underwater, skills he chalked up from his freediving experience, has made a huge difference, says the 25-year-old.

“One of the very first things you learn if you want to play underwater rugby, is holding your breath. Generally, the less often you resurface to catch your breath, the less likely you’ll miss an important play underwater. You learn to take calculated risks and make better decisions.”

As a pioneer member of the First Asian Team Underwater Rugby team, Zi Xiang has represented Singapore in the 2016 Pan Pacific Cup in Australia and in the 2018 Champions Cup in Germany.

“It has been six years since I first started, but I’m still learning. I am constantly tweaking my play style. For the most part, because of my smaller size, I try to avoid the players rather than tackle them. That’s similar to a winger in rugby,” he explains.

When there’s a will, there’s a wave

Underwater sports in the new normal

Zi Xiang resumed training in Phase Two of Singapore’s exit from the Circuit Breaker but in recent months, he’s managed to train three times a week again.

With restrictions on the number of players allowed per session, the underwater rugby game format has had to be tweaked.

“We used to be able to play in teams of six. Now we can only play four-a-side. This makes the game much more tiring, but it’s still fun!” he says.

A bright spot amid the pandemic for him? More time to coach others keen on learning a new sport.

“People who can’t travel yearn for novel experiences, and interest in underwater rugby has spiked. There are newcomers in our club.”

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Aqua girl

This story was published in the Aug-Sep 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.

Not even a near-death experience can stop Lim Anqi from diving into her love.

Two years ago, while practising for a freediving competition in Honduras, she blacked out as she surfaced from a 51m dive that was done on a single breath without using breathing equipment or fins. Luckily, safety divers near the surface pulled her out of the water in time, and she regained consciousness.

Out cold for a few seconds, the ordeal felt twice as long.

But Anqi ended up making waves at the Honduras meet, freediving to a depth of 65m in constant weight bifins and setting four national freediving records at the event organised by the international federation for underwater activities.

To put that into perspective, a scuba diver with open water certification is only allowed to dive to a depth of about 18m. For dives any deeper than that, advanced open water certification – which allows divers to reach a maximum depth of 30m – is required.

“Like any other sport, freediving pushes human limits and boundaries. It is very demanding both physically and mentally, and I would say even more so than most sports, as any mistake could be fatal,” she explains.

But freediving is “also like meditation”. Imagine being completely untethered deep beneath the surface of the ocean, quietly gliding past psychedelic corals and curious fish.

“For a few hours, I can be wholly present in the moment and shut everything else out. I leave my worries behind on land and be one with the ocean, with nature,” she explains.

The Nanyang Business School alumna fell in love with the ocean after she began scuba diving in 2004. The thalassophile never looked back.

“I was scuba diving in Koh Lipe in Thailand when I saw a freediver. I was amazed to see someone exploring the ocean so freely without the aid of an oxygen tank. I then went on to learn freediving from this very person,” says the 38-year-old.

That was in 2014, and over the next five years until COVID-19 struck, she went on to take part in more than 10 international competitions in what is one of the most extreme sports known to man.

When there’s a will, there’s a wave

Underwater sports in the new normal

Freediver Anqi has hung up her fins for now, although she occasionally practises in the swimming pool.

“I can’t freedive in Singapore – our waters are too shallow,” she says. “I’m pursuing a second degree in physiotherapy in the meantime, and eagerly waiting for international borders to reopen so I can return to the ocean soon.”

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Aqua girl

This story was published in the Aug-Sep 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.