In the second part of a series featuring Team Singapore athletes heading to the upcoming 32nd SEA Games, Matthew Mohan speaks to two athletes contributing to the renewal of their sport.
But it is a title she has never really liked.
While studying for her master's degree in film and screen studies at the University of Cambridge, Merican chanced upon the school sports fair. "I found out then that they were opening up to some players who were converting from other sports and the team was actually preparing for quite a busy year. So I stayed for a few sessions and I was honestly super, super nervous because I was like: 'This is way beyond my standard and way beyond what I was looking for'."
But Ernie isn't your ordinary skipper. She shares a special relationship with a number of the provisional 27-player squad headed to the Games. While some of her former charges may have found it"weird" to share the field with their coach in the beginning, the awkwardness is long gone. "Parents will approach me and ask how the national programme for the youth is like, if they can get to know more, if they can send their kids .
Her next mission is to encourage more players from the national team to play abroad, added Ernie, who had stints playing in Japan and Malaysia.In 2022, the Lionesses returned to the Games for the first time since 2003. They finished third in their group, notching a historic victory against a much higher ranked Laos team – their first win at the Games since 1985.
And with a limited talent pool in Singapore for the sport, it is players like Merican who can move the sport forward, said Shafina.
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