'Lucky I have accident insurance': Lee Teng gets multiple injuries filming new sports show

In pursuit of good health, sometimes we forget that sports and exercise can be dangerous without proper preparation — as Lee Teng can attest to.

In an interview with 8World, he revealed that he received multiple injuries over the course of filming the new Mediacorp sports programme The Star Athlete.

They include an arm injury during archery, an eye injury from a kick while swimming and an injury while playing football on the show.

In October last year, Lee Teng's wife Gina Lin shared on Instagram Story an image of his eye injury, censored with emojis.

"Ouch, so painful! Someone was injured at work today and was hit [and looks like a] panda," Gina, 28, wrote. It was not specified if the injury occurred during The Star Athlete.

Additionally, the injury he sustained during football was so severe that he had to receive emergency medical assistance, Lee Teng also said.

The 39-year-old explained that he had sustained a leg injury when he played for his school in a basketball competition years ago — his hamstring was damaged and he also had a grade two muscle strain, resulting in him requiring three months to heal.

Unexpectedly, this injury flared up while filming the variety show, Lee Teng said.

Speaking to 8World, he added with a smile: "Lucky I have accident insurance; I have learned a lesson. At my age, I can't move as freely as I used to, and absolutely need to do a good job of warming up and stretching."

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In The Star Athlete, Lee Teng and Qi Yuwu play both hosts and team captains to other participating celebrities as they compete in nine sports: archery, swimming, basketball, table tennis, bowling, track and field, badminton, floorball and football.

The teams go up against each other as they try to complete our national teams' workout routines and training sessions.

While chatting about the celebrities' athleticism, Lee Teng also took a cheeky underhand dig at team-mate Jeremy Chan. 

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"He's already over 40 and not tall but he goes all out — his performance really shocked me."

And while it is a variety show where some comedy can be expected, once the sweat started pouring and adrenaline began pumping, the participants got serious.

"When we're in the arena and in the thick of the competition, our desire to win comes out," Yuwu, 46, said.

"At first, I was worried whether it would be too serious and turn off some of the audience, but if it's not serious then it might feel very superficial.

"Later on, everyone unknowingly became very serious and it really became a competition. After the first event, everyone stopped pulling punches — they were serious and wanted to win!"

But as competitive and immersed in the games as they were, participating in the show has also given them insight on what it means to be an athlete.

Said Lee Teng: "Their self-discipline makes me realise that being an athlete really isn't easy. They have strict routines to follow in their daily life and they have to sacrifice a lot of their social lives."

The Star Athlete also stars Jaspers Lai, Seow Sin Nee and Yang Guang Ke Le. It airs on Monday, 8pm on Channel 8 and is available free on demand on meWATCH. 

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khooyihang@asiaone.com