Strengthening Youth Spirit and Sportsmanship at NUS Sports Spectra 2026

The vibrant energy of Singapore’s youth was on full display at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Sports Spectra event on Feb 15. 

Around 300 youths aged 16 to 26 took part in the local sports tournament, which was held at the NUS Multi-Purpose Sports Hall 5 from 9am to 6pm.

Organised by the NUS Tamil Language Society (TLS) and the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) Youth Club, the event testified the power of sports in fostering community bonds and sportsmanship.

The tournament was divided into three main categories: men’s football, mixed captain’s ball (in a bid to promote gender-inclusive collaboration) and women’s doubles badminton.

The atmosphere was electric and loud with encouraging cheers, as the young athletes tried to stake a name for themselves, and vied for a total cash prize pool of S$2,000.

The champions for the men’s football and mixed captain’s ball, which consisted of five- to seven-player teams, walked away with the grand prize of S$500 per team. Likewise, the winners for the women’s doubles badminton secured a well-deserved S$150 cash prize.

To reward sporting excellence at every level, the second and third placed teams also received cash prizes, which ranged from S$50 to S$250.

Though most of the participants were Indian, the event also saw a diverse participation of youths from various ethnic backgrounds.

At the helm of this tournament was Mr Arsyad Abdul Jalil, 25, a final-year business student at NUS, and the organising chairperson for Sports Spectra 2026. 

Mr Arsyad cited the collaboration with the SINDA Youth Club alongside the participation of students from various universities, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education (ITE) as instrumental in making the yearly event a time-honoured one.

“For many alumni, this is more than just a competition. It serves as an important platform for former students to reconnect with old friends,” he explained.

“The community aspect is just as important as the sporting aspect, which is why people had looked forward to this day with such immense anticipation.”

Ms Varsha Ganesan, 18, a Millennia Institute student, took part in the captain’s ball games. She found the novelty of competing against students from vastly different educational backgrounds interesting.

For former NUS TLS member Ms Geja Shreya, 22, it was the first time participating in the tournament as a player. She expressed pride in seeing her juniors successfully plan and execute an event of such scale. 

“It’s wonderful to return and see the current batch of students leading these games with such professionalism,” she said.

Representing the SINDA Youth Club in the men’s football were Mr Saivaraj Harish, 19, from Anglo-Chinese Junior College, and Mr Mervin Manivannan, 19, from Catholic Junior College.

Mr Harish noted that the level of competition was tougher than expected, which was affirmed by Mr Mervin who said that despite it, their team remained focused on the game.

At the women’s doubles badminton, Ms Pragathi Selvaraju, 19, an alumna of Jurong-Pioneer Junior College, mentioned that playing as a team for the first time was a positively refreshing experience.

Mr Rinu Raj, 20, whose team clinched first place in the mixed captain’s ball category, summed up that “the competition was tough from the beginning. But, everyone we played against worked incredibly hard and brought immense energy.”