Team Singapore among delegations at Winter Games from tropical, desert climates 

HARBIN: Competition is in full swing at the Asian Winter Games in northeast China’s Harbin and in the spotlight are not just those from winter sport powerhouses, but those hailing from nations without snow.

About two-thirds of the record 35 delegations at this year’s Games are from tropical and desert climate nations, including Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia.

Among the Singaporean competitors is alpine skier Faiz Basha, who ahead of the Games, trained for hours in Singapore’s monsoon downpours - the best alternative environment he could find to train in.

"This was the only way that I could maintain the level that I had. I knew that if I wasn't going to ski for two years, that I would lose a lot of ability,” he told CNA, referring to his National Service stint during which he could not travel overseas to train on the mountains.

The 22-year-old became Singapore's first national alpine skier in 2021, and is flying the country's flag at the Games which started last week.

BECOMING AN ALPINE SKIER

Faiz picked up the sport while growing up in Switzerland and competed in international races to gain experience. 

His coach encouraged him to set his sights on the Olympics given his skills, he said. Still, a Singaporean in winter sports typically raises eyebrows.

“I always get a lot of questions like ‘how do you train?’ How do you do all this when you know Singapore has no slopes at all?’,” he said.

“But for me, I find it a point of pride that even though we don't have all of these facilities, that I can still be able to reach the level that I reach."

Since finishing his NS two years ago, he has been training as much as he can, which has put him in good stead to compete against other Asians, he said. 

“I don't think my level is as competitive as in Europe. I still have a lot of work to do,” he added. 

Currently, Faiz is studying mechanical engineering in Scotland, where he secured a sports scholarship two years ago, allowing him to be nearer the European slopes.

Faiz finished 12th in Men's Slalom on Sunday (Feb 9) out of 58 athletes, making him the top Southeast Asian competitor in the event.

FINDING COACHES FOR WINTER SPORTS

With winter sports being a niche area in Singapore, coaches have had to be found elsewhere. 

For instance, Singapore’s short track coach, Zhao Yanzhi, who is from China, has been training the team since 2019.

Short track speed skating is a winter sport where skaters race around an oval-shaped ice track.

“Singapore's progress in skating is very good. They will have a new ice rink in Singapore in two years time. I hope the leaders will support them and give them more assistance,” she said. 

Team Singapore's chef de mission Feng Tianwei - a three-time table tennis Olympic medallist - acknowledged that there are challenges for a country like Singapore to excel in winter sports.

"We have thought of many ways and made various efforts to get them to go abroad for training and competitions, so that they can spend more time on the ice and snow and have more opportunities to participate in competitions."

The national ice hockey team’s captain Daniel Chew Wee said that since the closure of the only Olympic-sized ice rink in Singapore in 2023, weekly training has to be done across the border. 

“It's a commitment to go to Malaysia every weekend, to be in the traffic jam … The whole commute takes us six hours just to go for the one hour training,” he told CNA.

He added that the team occasionally travels to Thailand for training camps and tournaments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who opened the Games in Harbin, called for Asia to work together in developing winter sports in the region. This is as the country has been actively positioning itself as a champion to elevate the status of such sports, which have been historically dominated by Western nations.