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10 Greatest Singaporean Athletes of All Time

The New Singapore National Stadium, By Exec8 – Own work-

Singaporeans usually participate in a wide variety of sports for recreation and competition purposes. The popular sports include football, basketball, cricket, rugby union, swimming, badminton, and cycling. They also participate in many water activities which include, sailing, kayaking, and water skiing.

Here are the 10 greatest celebrated Singaporean athletes of all time;

1. Patricia Chan- Swimming

Patricia Chan, By Kroon, Ron for Anefo –

She is Singapore’s first swim queen, she was popularly known as Pat Chan or the  ‘Golden Girl’. Patricia was so dominant in the pool at SEA games. She took part in 39 events, of which she won  39 gold medals, between 1965 and 1973. It was her best achievement for Patricia until 2005.  In 1966 and 1970 she participated in eight events in the Asian Games and won 3 silver and 5 bronze medals, and set a national record in 200m backstrokes that lasted for 23 years.  

She was named the Best Sportswoman of Singapore for five consecutive years. In 2002 she was inducted into the Singapore Council Hall of Fame and was ranked fourth among the Singapore 50 Greatest

2. Loh Kean Yew-badminton player

Loh Kean Yew is a Singaporean badminton player, who was born on 26 June 1997. He is currently holding the men’s singles world champion, after winning the 2021 BWF World Championship, thus becoming the first Singaporean to win the World Championship. His professional career started in 2012.

He s now qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics after he was in 18th place in the Race to Tokyo men’s singles ranking. In 2020, he received the 2020 Meritorious Award from the Singapore National Olympic Committee and also received The Straits Times Athlete of the year 2021 Award in 2022.

3. Yip Pin Xiu-Paralympic swimming

Yip Pin Xiu was born on January 10th, 1992. She is a five-time Paralympic gold medalist and a one-time IPC gold medalist, with two records in the 50m backstroke. She is the most decorated Paralympian. She started her swimming competition when she was twelve years old and after she was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, she switched from the front crawl to the backstroke she had lost her ability to kick. It was therefore reclassified from S5 to the S3 category.

Her first international championship was the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games in 2005, whereby she won two gold medals. She also received four gold medals at the DSE Long Course Swimming Championship in2006, a 3gold medals at the Japan Paralympic Swimming Championship in 2007, and four gold medals at the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games. 

4.  Shayna Ng-Athlete

Shayna Ng is among the top four athletes in Singapore to be celebrated in 2021. She managed to put Singapore on the world map through bowling after she was able to win Singapore’s first gold medal at the World Bowling Women’s Championship in 2015 and also won her first professional Women Bowling Association title at the 2018 PWBA Las Vegas Open.

She has been reigning the world female record for the six-game series since 2011. She has been named twice as Singapore’s Sportswoman of the year and received the prestigious Singapore Youth Award in 2017.

5. Joseph Schooling-swimmer

Joseph Schooling, World Championships, Kazan, By Oleg Bkhambri (Voltmetro)-

Joseph Isaac Schooling is a Singaporean competitive swimmer. He was born on June 16, 1995. At the 2016 Olympics, he was the gold medalist in the 100m butterfly, thus achieving  Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal. He has broken multiple records at the National, Southeast Asian, Asian and Olympic levels with a winning time of 50.39 seconds.

He qualified for the Olympics in 2012 after winning the 200m butterfly at the 2011 SEA Games. He has received several gold medals after winning in various competitions and in 2016 he received a Meritorious Service medal for his exceptional achievements at the Rio Olympics.

6. Li Jia Wei-Tennis player

Li Jia Wei is Chinese born-Singaporean former table tennis player, who on 27 December 2012. She is a four-time  Olympian and twice Olympic medalist. She started her competitive table tennis career in 1996 after she had moved to Singapore in 1995 and later on when she was the age 18, she became a Singapore citizen under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.

Li Jia Wei has achieved various gold medals in the women’s team, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles at the XVII Commonwealth Games.

7. C. Kunalan-sprinter

Canagasabai Kunalan is a retired Singaporean Sprinter, relay runner, former footballer, and educator. He was considered one of the greatest ever athletes. In 1968 and 1969 he was named sportsman of the year. Also in 1968, he set a national record which lasted for 33 years in the Mexico City Olympic Games 100metre with 10.38 seconds.

He started his running career in 1963. He participated in the 1964 summer Olympics, and also participated in two Olympic games which enabled him to earn five Asian Games and fifteen Southeast Asian Peninsular Games medals. He retired in 1979 due to a heel injury and later on became an educator.

8. Theresa Goh-Swimmer

Theresa Goh is a Singaporean swimmer and Paralympic medalist with a bronze at SB4 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. She holds the world record for the SB4 50metres and 200metres breaststroke events. She started her swimming career at the age of 12years. Theresa does not have to use her legs due to the congenital spina bifida.

Her latest achievement was in the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the same year was presented the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat in the National Day Awards. From 2004 to 2006 she was the SDSC’S sportswoman of the year. She was among the three people given the Youth Inspiration Award at the Stars of SHINE Award in 2008. She announced her retirement in 2019. 

9. Wang Yuegu- Table tennis player

Wang Yuegu at a ceremony to welcome Team Singapore home from the 2008 Summer Olympics.
By Jackley; original photograph by whyohgee Singapore 2010. –

 Wang Yuegu is a retired Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player, who was ranked among the top ten players in the world. She appeared in her inaugural as a Singaporean table tennis player on the International Table 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.

She was a member of the silver medal-winning women’s table tennis team. She announced her retirement from competitive sports in August 2012.

10. Remy Ong-bowler

Remy Ong is a Singaporean bowler and former world champion. He made his name in the 2002 Asian Games at Busan as the captain of the men’s team, by becoming the nation’s only male multiple-gold medalist in the competition.

He won his first perfect game at the ATBC Championship in 1998.  Not did he achieve the number one status for bowling in Asia and fifth in the world in 2002 and became 38th at the AMF World Cup, but he also was voted the sportsman of the year. In 2003 he was given the Singapore Youth Award.