The selection trials for the 13th Asian Cities Gold Cup Taekwondo Championships and the 25th SEA Games were conducted on 30 November 2008 at 2.00pm at the National Training Centre.
It attracted 32 players from 13 clubs. Most of the Management Committee members, including STF President Milan Kwee, witnessed the selection process.
The selection panel comprising Messrs Steven Soh, RA Jeyaraman and Lee Thiam Poh assessed them based on their performances in competition-styled sparring. Majority of them performed reasonably well resulting in the high number of players being shortlisted.
The selectors categorized them to differentiate the better performers from the rest.
Here are their recommendations.
Male (Senior)
| Weight Category | Category A | Category B |
| Fin | Jason Tan | Benjamin Teo |
| Fly | Jason Ong | Nicholas Lau |
| Bantam | Jordan Tay | Goh WeiliangMuthiah |
| Feather | – | Samuel LeeWoon Yong Chuang |
| Light | – | Mohammad Hafiq |
| Welter | – | Patrick Wong |
Female (Senior)
| Weight Category | Category A | Category B |
| Fin | – | Ong Tian Ling |
| Fly | – | Lanetar Quek |
| Bantam | – | Denise Thong |
| Feather | – | Michelle Liew |
| Light | – | Charlotte Tang |
Male (Junior)
| Weight Category | Category A | Category B |
| Fin | Keith Ong | – |
| Fly | Wesley Ong | – |
| Feather | – | Goh Jun Jie |
| Light | Jordan Tay | Ianlex NgChristopher Lee |
| Light Middle | – | Samuel Lee |
Female (Junior)
| Weight Category | Category A | Category B |
| Fly | – | Tio Jia Xin |
| Light | – | Quek Jie Yi |
| Middle | – | Tessa Tang |
| Heavy | – | Quek Jie Lin |
While players in Category A can be downgraded for failure to fulfill their training requirements, players in Category B will be upgraded if they prove to be committed in their training and show improvements in their performance ability. However, they will only be given the ticket for overseas competition if they are better than the listed Category A players.
All shortlisted players are to report for briefing and training on Wednesday, 3 December 2008 at 7.30pm at the National Training Centre.