Singapore (VNA) - While Singapore’s sports administrators did not set a medal target at the ongoing SEA Games 31 in Vietnam, their athletes are believed to have the potential to garner 45 gold medals, according to the Games Organising Committee.

Up to 243 out of the 427 athletes who represent Singapore at SEA Games 31 are debutants.

Expectations are high for the Singaporean team, following strong showings in SEA Games 30 in the Philippines in 2019 (53 golds, 46 silvers, 68 bronzes) and 2017 (58 - 58 - 72) in Kuala Lumpur.

Led by Olympians Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen, Singapore's swimmers are likely to dominate in the pool once more and mine almost half of that total target.

While the sailors, who typically deliver a good haul of golds at the Games, will not be in Hanoi as sailing is not contested, others sports like table tennis, bowling and shooting should contribute multiple medals, as could sports where Singapore has enjoyed recent success in such as fencing and cue sports.

Combat sports, which account for a record 32.5 percent of the 40 sports contested in Vietnam, are also likely to brought home medals in pencak silat, jiu jitsu and wushu. Pencak silat exponent Iqbal Abdul Rahman notched the first gold for Singapore on May 11 in the men's artistic singles (Tunggal)./.