With just over a month to go before the start of the Paris Olympics 2024, athletes around the globe have entered their final stages of preparations. In Singapore, too, the situation is no different.
Participating in the Olympics since 1948, the Southeast Asian nation has been a constant at the sports meet. The only times when one couldn’t spot Singapore’s name in the partaking nation’s list were in 1964 and 1980. But why?
At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Singapore’s delegation was clubbed with that of Malaysia and the Singaporean athletes participated under the Malaysian flag. However, the former’s complete independence from Malaysia in 1965 meant that from the 1968 Olympics (which was held in Mexico City), Singapore appeared at the grandest sporting event in the world with its own name.
In 1980, the United States of America (USA) refrained from participating in the Olympic Games held in Russia. This was done as a mark of protest against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Several countries, including Singapore, stood in solidarity with Afghanistan and joined the USA in withdrawing from the Olympics.
This year’s edition will mark Singapore’s 18th Olympic Games. As such, here is a look at the nation’s track record at the marquee sports meet and the squad of Singaporean athletes at the Paris Olympics 2024, the dates for which have already been announced. We have also taken the liberty to list the likely contenders for winning medals.
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An overview of Singapore’s history at the Olympic Games
In their 17 appearances at the Olympic Games to date, how successful have the Singaporean athletes been over the years? Let us find out.
Tan Howe Liang won the Southeast Asian nation’s first-ever medal at the Olympic Games when he clinched the silver medal in lightweight weightlifting at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
To date, swimmer Joseph Schooling remains the only Singaporean athlete to have won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He achieved this feat in the men’s 100-metre butterfly at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile, table tennis player Feng Tianwei is Singapore’s most successful athlete in the Olympic Games’s history with a silver medal (2008, women’s team) and two bronze medals (2012, women’s singles and women’s team).
Overall, Singapore has won five medals — a gold, two silver and two bronze — at the Olympics.
Singaporean athletes who have secured qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024
So far, 22 Singaporean athletes in 10 sporting disciplines have qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024. A few more individuals are expected to make the cut before the start of the event. This, in turn, will result in a bigger contingent than the previous edition.
For context, 23 athletes represented Singapore in 11 sporting disciplines at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. However, the Southeast Asian nation failed to secure a single medal for the first time since 2008.
According to its schedule, the Paris Olympics 2024 will be held between 26 July and 11 August in over 30 venues across the French capital. Here are all the athletes who will represent Singapore at this year’s Olympic Games:
Athletics
Shanti Pereira (women’s 200 metres)
Badminton
Loh Kean Yew (men’s singles)
Tan Wei Han (mixed doubles)
Terry Hee (mixed doubles)
Yeo Jia Min (women’s singles)
Canoeing
Stephenie Chen (women’s K-1 500 metres)
Equestrian
Caroline Chew (women’s dressage, individual)
Fencing
Amita Berthier (women’s foil)
Kiria Tikanah (women’s epee)
Rowing
Saiyidah Aisyah (women’s single sculls)
Sailing
Maximillian Maeder (men’s formula kite)
Ryan Lo (men’s laser, ILCA7)
Shooting
Ten Xiu Hong (women’s 25 metres pistol)
Swimming
Gan Ching Hwee (women’s 1,500 metres freestyle)
Jonathan Tan (men’s 50 metres freestyle)
Letitia Sim (women’s 100 metres breaststroke, women’s 4×100 metres medley relay)
Levenia Sim (women’s 4×100 metres medley relay)
Quah Jin Wen (women’s 4×100 metres medley relay)
Quah Tin Wen (women’s 4×100 metres medley relay)
Table tennis
Izaac Quek (men’s singles)
Zeng Jian (women’s singles)
Zhou Jingyi (women’s singles)
Which Singaporean athletes are most likely to win medals at the Paris Olympics 2024?
Shanti Pereira
Sport: Athletics
Ranked in the pantheon of Singapore’s greatest athletes, Shanti Pereira holds numerous records to her name. She is the current Asian champion in both the 100-metre and the 200-metre women’s sprint races. In addition, she also won the gold medal in the women’s 200-metre sprint division at the Asian Games in 2023.
Albeit of Indian origin, today Pereira is the face of Singapore in track and field athletics. Besides her success in the Asian Championships and the Asian Games, she has a rich portfolio of medals. This includes her four gold medal wins at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games (two in 2023 and one each in 2015 and 2021).
There were clouds of uncertainty regarding Pereira’s participation in the Paris Olympics 2024 after the Singaporean athlete suffered a knee injury in Florida in April. However, she has been included in Singapore’s contingent for the mega event, implying that her recovery has been successful. Pereira has the best chance of winning a gold medal for Singapore in the upcoming Olympic Games.
Loh Kean Yew
Sport: Badminton
A former world champion, Loh Kean Yew has a fantastic career record of 225 wins as opposed to 127 losses. He is one of Singapore’s best shuttlers in the modern era, so naturally, the hopes of an entire nation will rest on his shoulders when he lands in Paris in July.
Besides winning the BWF World Championships in 2021, Yew has also won three BWF World Tour titles in his career. In addition, he won the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and as many as eight medals — two silver and six bronze — at the SEA Games.
Earlier this year, Yew won the Spain Masters, defeating French shuttler Toma Junior Popov in the summit clash. A BWF title win in the year of the Olympics is something the Singaporean can take inspiration from. Although not among the top 10 singles shuttlers in the world at present (he is ranked 12th), it won’t be a surprise to see Yew on the podium in Paris.
Tan Wei Han
Sport: Badminton
Alongside her husband Terry Hee, Tan Wei Han is the holder of the gold medal in the mixed doubles category at the Commonwealth Games. For context, the Singaporean duo won in 2022 by defeating the English pair of Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith in the final. Therefore, it is understandable why we have our eyes on the latter as a potential medal winner at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Han and Hee also have three BWF World Tour titles in their belt, the most significant of them being the India Open which they won in 2022. In addition to their gold medal, the pair also won the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the mixed team category and five bronze medals at the SEA Games (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023).
While they have been mixed doubles partners for a decade, Hee had to take a break from badminton to complete his mandatory two-year service in the national army. During this period, Han did not enjoy much success besides winning the national championships in the mixed doubles category alongside Danny Bawa Chrisnanta.
Terry Hee
Sport: Badminton
If we have talked about Tan Wei Han, there is no way we can skip the mention of Terry Hee. After all, most of their successes have come as a pair.
Hee and Han are Singapore’s first local-born mixed doubles pair to qualify for the Olympic Games. The two of them will be hoping to replicate their success from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as will the rest of the Southeast Asian nation.
As it happens, the gold medal was not the only success Hee has ever tasted at the Commonwealth Games. He won the bronze medal in the mixed team category in 2014 and 2022. Additionally, the Singaporean has also won six bronze medals at the SEA Games (two in 2021 and one each in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023).
Zeng Jian
Sport: Table tennis
Last but not least in our list of probable medal-winning Singaporean athletes at the Paris Olympics 2024 is Zen Jian. Born in China, she has imbibed a love for table tennis from a very tender age. This benefitted Singapore greatly when Jian became a citizen of the Southeast Asian country in 2014.
At the junior level, she won three under-21 singles titles at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour in 2016. However, it is her achievements at the Commonwealth Games that people are more interested in.
Jian won two gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games — held in Birmingham — in the women’s team and doubles events. The latter came alongside compatriot Feng Tianwei as the Singaporean duo defeated the Australian pair of Jee Minhyung and Jian Fang Lay in the final. Ironically, Jian lost to her doubles partner, Tiawei, in the summit clash of the women’s singles category and had to settle for a silver medal at the same event.
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(Main Image Credits: Shanti Pereira/Instagram and Wei Han Jessica Tan/Instagram; Featured Image Credits: Shanti Pereira/Instagram)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To date, 22 Singaporean athletes have qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024.
