Singaporeans participate in a wide variety of sports for recreation as well as for competition. Popular sports include football, swimming, track and field, basketball, rugby union, badminton, table tennis, and cycling. Many public residential areas provide amenities like swimming pools, outdoor spaces (i.e. street football and basketball courts, running tracks) [1] and indoor sport centres, with facilities for badminton, table tennis, squash among others.
As an island city-state, Singapore is surrounded by waters thus, many Singaporeans also enjoy water sports like swimming, water polo, sailing, kayaking, rowing and waterskiing. There is also a number of avid recreational scuba divers, a prominent diving spot being the southern island of Pulau Hantu, famous for its coral reefs.
Although Singapore does not have a de jure national sport, football is arguably the most popular spectator sport in Singapore. Singapore has its own professional football league, known as the Singapore Premier League (formerly known as S. League). Launched in 1996, it consists of nine teams competing against one another, with one based in Brunei, as of 2023 [update] . Since 2019, all eight teams in Singapore shared their home stadiums with one other team, which are mostly located in heartland towns. In 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012, the Singapore national football team were champions in the AFF Championship, the premier football competition in Southeast Asia.
Singapore athletes have performed well in both regional and international competitions, mainly in swimming, badminton, table tennis, bowling, sailing, water polo, sepak takraw, and silat. To date, Singapore has won a total of one gold, two silver and two bronze Olympic medals. Singapore has also amassed a total of 41 gold, 59 silver and 117 bronze medals at the Asian Games.
The most popular sports in Singapore include outdoor sports like football, swimming, track and field, rugby union and cycling as well as various indoor sports like badminton, table tennis and basketball. Floorball has a young history in the country, but is gaining popularity. [2]
Most Singaporeans live in public residential areas with amenities like swimming pools, outdoor spaces (i.e. street football and basketball courts, running tracks) [3] and indoor sport centres, with facilities for badminton, table tennis, squash among others.
As an island city-state, Singapore is surrounded by waters thus, water sports like swimming, water polo, sailing, kayaking, rowing and waterskiing are also popular among Singaporeans.
Singapore has its own football league, the Singapore Premier League (formerly known as S. League), formed in 1996, [4] which comprises nine clubs, including one based in Brunei.
In 2003, Singapore hosted a round of the UIM F1H2O World Championship in Marina Bay. The event subsequently took the title of Singapore Grand Prix. [5]
In 2006, the Singapore Slingers joined the National Basketball League in Australia but, left in 2008. [6] The Singapore Slingers were one of the inaugural teams in the ASEAN Basketball League founded in October 2009. [7]
Beginning in 2008, Singapore started hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship. The race was staged at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in the Marina Bay area, and became the first night race on the F1 calendar, [8] and the first street circuit in Asia. [9]
The Government of Singapore sanctions a variety of sports-based programmes for education in addition to the normal physical education. The National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) was introduced in 1982, a scheme which requires mandatory participation of all students within primary and secondary education. The scheme gives awards for a variety of physical tests for endurance, cardiovascular fitness and strength, including a medium-distance run of 1.6 or 2.4 kilometres for primary and secondary students respectively, and the results are reflected in each student's report book. As such, although gaining an award is not mandatory, students are often pressured to do so.
In addition, the government sponsors the Singapore Sports School, which was established on 2 April 2004, combining a secondary school curriculum with professional training in each student's preferred sport, in an attempt to nurture future generations of sportsmen and sportswomen. The concept behind the Singapore Sports School is that sporting talent should not be compromised when striving for academic excellence.
On 21 February 2008 the International Olympic Committee announced [10] that Singapore won the bid to host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. Singapore beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44. [11] On 15 September 2010, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports Teo Ser Luck announced that Singapore will start off the Singapore Biennale Games initiative to keep up the Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010 Legacy, to be held every 2 years, starting from year 2011. [12]
Singapore has also performed well in subsequent editions of the Youth Olympic Games. To date, the country has won a total of 2 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals. Singapore sent its first 3 winter sport athletes to the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics held in Lausanne, Switzerland. [13]
Rugby was first introduced in Singapore during the late 19th century, when Singapore was still a Crown colony part of the British Empire. It has had a steady presence since the beginning of the 20th century, when the Malay Cup between the Singapore national team and the Malayan national team was established, which was one of the oldest rugby competitions in the world. [14]
In 2005, the Singaporean team won the Asian Netball Championship with a win over the Malaysian team with a score of 53–39 at the Finals.
Ronald Susilo is a Singaporean former badminton player. Susilo was ranked sixth, his highest ranking, in 2004.
Li Jiawei is a retired Chinese-born former Singaporean table tennis player, four-time Olympian and twice Olympic medalist. She trained in Beijing's famous Shichahai Sports School with Olympic medalist Zhang Yining. In 1995, she moved to Singapore and in the following year, she commenced her international career as a competitive table tennis player. She became a Singapore citizen at the age of 18 years under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.
Jing Junhong, also stylized as Jing Jun Hong, is a Chinese-born Singaporean former professional table tennis player. Born in Shanghai, she was a highly ranked player in China before she moved to Singapore with her husband, Singaporean table tennis player Loy Soo Han, whom she married in 1992. She represented Singapore in sporting events starting in the 1990s, and was naturalized as a Singaporean citizen in 1994. After retiring as a player, she served as deputy head coach, then as head coach, of the women's national table tennis team, before being reassigned to leading the country's table tennis youth development program in late 2015.
Tan Howe Liang, is a Singaporean weightlifter who was the first Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal. He did this in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where he won the silver medal in the lightweight category. Tan also broke the oldest-standing world record in the lightweight category in the clean and jerk in 1958. He was the only Singaporean Olympic medalist until the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The 1989 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 15th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 to 31 August 1989 with 25 sports featured in the games. It was officially opened by 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Azlan Shah. Although Cambodia did not participate, Laos returned to compete for the first time under the new federation name in this edition of the games, while Vietnam fields their own delegation to the event for the first time as a unified country.
Sport in Brunei covers the variety of sports that are played, from amateur to professional levels, across the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, in addition to individuals and teams who are sent to compete in tournaments both home and abroad. Association football is the most popular sport played in Brunei. Several sports, along with leisure activities are also partaken in Brunei; from badminton and swimming to horseback riding, mountain biking, and paintball.
The 2013 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 27th Southeast Asian Games, or the 27th SEA Games, and commonly known as Naypyitaw 2013, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event took place in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from 11 to 22 December 2013, Around 4730 athletes from 11 participating nations competed at the games, which featured 460 events in 34 sports. The games were held from 11 to 22 December 2013.
Zhang Xueling is a Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player.
Singapore has sent athletes to the celebration of the Olympic Games since 1948, when it was established as a separate British crown colony from the Straits Settlements just over three months before the commencement of the 1948 Summer Olympics. It continued to send a team to the Games until 1964 when the Singaporean delegation competed with Malaysia, which sent a combined team.
Yang Zi is a Chinese-born Singaporean former table tennis player.
Wang Yuegu is a retired Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player who was ranked among the top ten players in the world. Wang made her inaugural appearance as a Singaporean table tennis player on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she and Sun Beibei took the silver medal in the women's doubles. On 24 September 2006, Wang achieved her first gold medal on the Pro Tour at the Japan Open in Yokohama. She repeated the feat against her compatriot Li Jiawei on 12 November at the ITTF Pro Tour German Open in Bayreuth. In June 2007, Wang helped Singapore sweep the women's team, women's doubles and mixed doubles gold trophies at the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Jaipur.
Sports in Malaysia are an important part of Malaysian culture. Sports in Malaysia are popular from both the participation and spectating aspect. Malaysians from different walks of life join in a wide variety of sports for recreation as well as for competition. In the broadest definition of sports—physical exercise of all sorts—the four most popular recreational sports among the general population of Malaysia are exercise walking, aerobic exercise, strength training, and running. Other most popular sports are bicycling, swimming, climbing, camping, bowling, hiking, fishing, scuba diving and paragliding.
Singapore competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Olympics, except for two different editions. Singapore was part of the Malaysian team at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but did not attend at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, because of its support for the United States boycott.
The 2015 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 28th Southeast Asian Games, or the 28th SEA Games, and commonly known as Singapore 2015, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held by the city-state of Singapore from 5 to 16 June 2015, It was the fourth time the country hosted the games. Singapore had previously also hosted the games in 1973, 1983 and the 1993 editions.
Xing Aiying is a Chinese-born Singaporean former badminton player who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Amanda Lim is a Singaporean freestyle swimmer.
Toh Wei Soong is a Singaporean freestyle and butterfly swimmer. He was a bronze medallist in the S7 50 metre Freestyle at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and a two-time gold medallist at the 2018 Asian Para Games for the S7 50 metre Freestyle and the S7 100 metre Freestyle events.
Nurul Suhaila Binte Mohamed Saiful is a Singaporean pencak silat practitioner. She represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games and the Pencak World Championships. Nurul won her first world championship in 2018, at the 15th World Pencak Silat Championship.
Nurzuhairah Mohammad Yazid is a Singaporean pencak silat practitioner. She represented Singapore at the 2018 Asian Games and won a silver medal in women's singles event that was held at Padepokan Pencak Silat Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta. She claimed her first world title in the Female Artistic Singles Category that took place from 13 to 16 December 2018 at OCBC Arena Hall 1, Singapore Sports Hub.
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