It has been a successful outing for Singapore at the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar, with only chess, golf and wrestling of the 25 sports that the nation participated in missing out on the medals.

Singapore’s contingent of 309 athletes will bring home 108 medals — 34 golds, 29 silvers and 45 bronzes — and finish sixth out of 11 nations, ahead of the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Brunei.

Thailand topped the table with 107 gold medals, ahead of hosts Myanmar (84) and Vietnam (73).

Comparatively, Singapore sent 623 athletes to the 2011 Games, where they took part in 34 of 48 sports and finished fifth with 42 golds, 45 silvers and 73 bronzes.

“Overall, our athletes have performed well ... their sixth placing is something very commendable which we should celebrate,” said Team Singapore’s Chef de Mission Annabel Pennefather in delivering her report card yesterday.

“We participated in fewer sports and did not take part in many of the traditional sports which involved a significant number of medals.”

Pennefather pointed to the breakthroughs achieved, including surprise medals which she regards as “the nicest to applaud” as they came from events least expected to medal. Archer Chan Jing Ru (women’s recurve individual 70m), rower Saiyidah Aisyah (women’s 2000m lightweight singles sculls), equestrienne Janine Khoo (individual show jumping) and marathoner Mok Ying Ren were some of the unexpected gold medallists.

“Hopefully, they will ignite a spark in these sports, and they will build on this,” said Pennefather. “It is also pleasing that swimming, sailing and table tennis have continued to be our top performers while our water polo men’s team have continued their winning legacy.” As for those who failed to medal, she said: “If they didn’t have an accurate assessment before they came here, this will give them a fairer picture as we move forward to prepare for future meets.”

Acknowledging other nations are narrowing the gap in sports that Singapore are dominant in, Pennefather urged the respective national sports associations to act. “I’m sure they will be taking this into account in their review and see how they can improve ... and avoid lapses or things that can affect their performances,” she said.

When asked by TODAY to sum up Singapore’s performance in one word, she chose “inspiring”, noting the medal-winning performances that ended decades-long droughts and which will inspire the larger community. She said: “I hope all NSAs and athletes will take away the lessons learnt ... to come back stronger and even more competitive when we host the Games in 2015.” PHILIP GOH