Serious 17yo SINKIE World Record Breaking Powerlifter stranded in Belarus, crowdfund?

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Fucking traitor PAP can sponsor foreigners and they cannot bring this guy back?? Fuck LHL's cheebye, use all that money for your family cancer treatment and funeral.






On Sunday, 18 June, just before midnight in Singapore, Matthew Yap, a 17 year old powerlifter was in Minsk, Belarus, at the 5th IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships 2017. In front of a huge international crowd and many more watching online, on the livestream, young Matthew Yap became the first Singaporean to break a sporting world record in the Sub Junior division of the Men's Under-66kg weight class.
Matthew broke a 5 year old World Squat Record with his 208kg third attempt! A massive amount of weight (over three times Matthew's body weight) was moved. Looking at tall and lanky Matthew, you would find it hard pressed to believe it. Yet he did! And his elder brother and coach, Marcus Yap, also a World Record Holder in Powerlifting, was there to help him in his preparation.
This record was previously held by Swede athlete Eddie Berglund, arguably one of the best powerlifters in this weight class. Matthew's success shook our country and took the internet by storm, as news outlets rushed to report his incredible feat, and viral news sites created memes and posted videos of his world record-breaking attempt that spread like wildfire!

You can read more in the links below.
Now, Matthew and his coach/brother Marcus Yap are being detained in Minsk, Belarus, due to a visa mix up. When entering the country on 16 June, they were told that they did not need to apply for any visa-on-arrival. Today, Matthew and Marcus got in touch with us, saying that the officials are demanding they pay a USD 600 fine for the two boys to be released. They were detained, questioned, and it was a very traumatic experience. Eventually, realising that the boys had no money, they waived the fine and asked them to get their own air tickets home. When Marcus and Matthew checked with the airline, to their dismay, they found that rebooking their flights home would cost 949€ per person!
Having worked 10-hour shifts at a Korean eatery and saving their allowances just to be able to make this trip to Belarus to compete, there was no way they could afford this. They had already spent SGD 5,500 for this chance to win the World Record.
Back home, the Yap brothers' parents got in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who eventually managed to speak with their airline, Lufthansa, to reduce the fees. Now, Matthew and Marcus will have to pay 603€ (just about SGD 950) for both of them to rebook their flights to Frankfurt, then back home.
Please help us bring our boys home. There will be a two-day delay in their return, as the next flight out will only be on Friday. We hope to be able to raise sufficient for them to cover their flight tickets home, and if any extras, a little of their expenses incurred during the two day delay.
Thank you for your contributions!


To read more about Matthew's achievements in Belarus:
http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/br...s-world-record
http://m.todayonline.com/sports/spor...ifting-chships
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/powerlifting-singapore-teen-sets-new-sub-junior-squat-world-8958990?cid=
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singaporea...021951015.html
http://mothership.sg/2017/06/sporean...-squat-record/
For more information or enquiries, please email us: [email protected]


My name is Daphne Loo and I am the Media Officer for Powerlifting Singapore, a not for profit organization that helps to grow the sport of powerlifting in Singapore.



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About Powerlifting (Singapore) (www.powerliftingsg.com)

Powerlifting (Singapore) is the national governing body for powerlifting, and is an affiliate nation member with the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and the Asian Powerlifting Federation (APF). Established in 2011 as an interest group, it was officially recognized as a sports association in 2014, and has since adopted the Anti-Doping Singapore (ADS) drug control policy and regulation, to take the sport even further in always ensuring a fair playing field for all.


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