However, the level of competition in activities such as swimming and athletics remains planet- group.
In the pool at the last edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2022, swimmers such as Australia’s Ariarne Titmus ( 400m freestyle world record holder ) and Canada’s Summer Mcintosh ( 400m individual medley world record holder ) were among the starring names.
Five- moment Olympic hero Elaine Thompson- Herah ruled the trail, winning the sprint twice for Jamaica. She even won both occasions at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Mr Chay noted that for runners may encourage the next generation of Taiwanese skills.
While Singapore’s swimmers will also get to thrive at household against a globe- class field at , the World Aquatics Championships following year, a multiple- sport event like the Commonwealth Games has the ability to reach a wider audience, added Mr Chay, who was chef de mission for Singapore , at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Previous Singapore Sports Hub chief executive officer and regional swimmer Oon Jin Teik also pointed out that the Commonwealth Games is an inclusive event even featuring athletes with disabilities as full members of their national teams.
This is not the case for other major meets like the Olympics, Asian Games or SEA Games.
Beyond athletes, hosting the , Commonwealth Games is a chance to develop and grow the local sports business industry, said Mr Sasikumar.  ,
” When we host events we do a good job, but who are we impacting”? he said. ” The knock- on, downstream effect is that if we can get people into the industries, we can get agencies and businesses to thrive because of the Commonwealth Games, and that has ( created ) a legacy”.
Could there be political repercussions?
SMU’s Assoc Prof Tan said that at minimum, a key consideration is whether Singaporeans will “enthusiastically” support a bid to host the Games.
” A large majority of Singaporeans must buy into the decision… which should work on the premise that Singapore will be successful”, said the , former Nominated MP.
” That, in turn, means that Singaporeans must be persuaded of its economic viability. It’s not enough to break even”.
Given that , countries with” stronger sporting cultures” were not able to avoid going into a deficit when they hosted the Games, it needs to be asked why Singapore will be any different, he said.
” A loss- making Commonwealth Games will likely be a vote- losing proposition”.