By Daniel Wong

FOURTEEN years ago, they were the region's whipping boys.

But, next year, Singapore will be rubbing shoulders with Asia's elite after beating Taiwan recently to earn promotion to the Five Nations tournament.

The other continental powers who will do battle in the tournament from April 4 to May 23 are Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong.

For Singapore, the route to the premier division looks like a script from Hollywood. It started with a dark day in 1994, when Singapore fell 13-164 to Hong Kong. It was a record loss for the tournament.

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