SINGAPORE : The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the Singapore Totalisator Board (Tote Board) have pledged S$7.5 million for Project 0812.

The project seeks to provide national sports associations with additional funding to prepare Singapore athletes for the Beijing Olympics in August and the London games in 2012.

Four sports associations - Singapore Badminton Association, Singapore Shooting Association, Singapore Table Tennis Association and Singapore Sailing Federation - have already been identified as potential performers at this year's Olympics.

"I think when the Project 0812 came,... we were near to going to full-time sailing, which we've never done before. (Our) young (sailors) grew up in Singapore, have been in the school system and the parents... are confident that maybe this time, we can actually do something special at
the Olympic games," said Andrew Sanders, CEO of the Singapore Sailing Federation.