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The next home SEA Games may be four years away, but any athlete will tell you that that time can pass in a flash.<\/span><\/p>\n Home SEA Games will always have a special place in my heart. In 1993, when Singapore hosted the SEA Games for the second time (third if you include its predecessor \u2013 the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games), I was a cub reporter covering the competition as a member of the media.<\/span><\/p>\n When the Games came to Singapore the next time in 2015, I had the honour of being chef de mission for Team Singapore. In the interim, I competed in four SEA Games as an athlete.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s obvious that hosting a major multisport games will increase attention, focus and scrutiny for the home team\u2019s athletes, sports officials and administrators.<\/span><\/p>\n As Team Singapore gears up for 2029, a few points come to mind in ensuring that the strong performance in Thailand is not wasted.<\/span><\/p>\n First, the issue of how to use competitions like the SEA Games to prepare athletes to excel on the global stage becomes critical.<\/span><\/p>\n Standards at the Games have been improving, with sports like table tennis and badminton featuring some of the best in the world. At the same time, the limited playing field (of the 11 Southeast Asian nations) means that competition is not of the stature or quality of the other major games like the Olympics.<\/span><\/p>\n The ability to balance flying our flag high and blooding new talent will be an important task for sports federations and Sport Singapore, the national sports authority. The 2026 Asian Games in Japan and the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia will be important to find this balance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n