SINGAPORE — Despite the challenges faced by Team Singapore’s ice skaters during their preparations for the competition, they accomplished an impressive feat by winning a total of eight medals – three silvers and five bronzes- at the Asian Open Short Track Trophy, held from Aug 31 to Sep 2 in Bangkok, Thailand. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the Singapore Ice Skating Association (SISA) as it is their biggest medal haul since the country started sending skaters to the competition in 2014.
The competition witnessed the participation of 113 skaters from 11 countries. Singapore, led by national coach Zhao Yanzhi and team leader Alicia Tan, was represented by a total of 11 skaters, making it the largest-ever delegation from the country in an international short track competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union.
Nine-year-old Raeon Zhang, the youngest skater in Singapore’s development squad, had an impressive outing as he clocked new personal bests and contributed two silvers in the Junior D2 333m and 777m categories, in his first overseas international competition. Singapore’s third silver was won by 11-year-old national skater Braelynn Nga in the Junior D 777m event.
“I am so excited to represent Singapore for my first international overseas competition. I am so happy that I got two silver medals and two personal bests as I wasn’t expecting any podium finishes. I was just targeting a top 5 finish for all my races. I will definitely aim for a gold for my next competition. So happy to make Singapore proud!” exclaimed Zhang, beaming with pride.
Chloe Luai (Junior A Women 1000m), Keegen Chan (Junior B Men 1500m), Amelia Chua (Junior B Women 500m), Lavelle Zhang (Junior C Women 500m), and Geok Qin Loh (Junior C Women 1000m) contributed a bronze medal each to Team Singapore’s medal tally. Also representing Team Singapore at the competition were Isaac Tan (Junior D2 Men), Rory Suwarganda (Junior A Women), and Xu Jing Feng in the Senior Men category.
“This is Singapore’s best showing at the Asian Open, and I am very pleased at the fighting spirit displayed by all our skaters. In addition to the medals, our skaters clocked 12 new personal bests during the competition. As the Olympic-sized rink in Singapore has closed, our skaters flew in about a week earlier to access ice training to prepare for the competition. The extra effort plus the will to press on and do their best have paid off,” said Singapore Team Leader Tan.
Before the competition, SISA’s president Alison Chan commended the Team Singapore skaters for their resilience and perseverance after they lost a vital training venue when the JCube shopping mall was officially closed on Aug 6 to make way for a new residential development.
Before the competition, SISA’s President, Alison Chan, applauded the resilience and perseverance of the Team Singapore skaters.
“We are very happy that our team is pressing on. Asia Open is one of the top international competitions in this region, and we are glad that at this event, our skaters are still hitting key development milestones and advancing through the national team pathway even without a full-sized rink in Singapore,” said SISA’s president Chan.
SISA is currently raising funds through the 25th Anniversary Fund to support the ice skating community for overseas competitions and pre-competition training.
“To support the continued development of our sport, we encourage everyone to donate to the SISA 25th Anniversary Fund to provide funding for our skaters to travel overseas for competitions and to access on-ice training while we work towards building a new Olympic-sized rink in Singapore,” said SISA’s president Chan.
The campaign is held on giving.sg, and donors who contribute S$180 or more will receive a complimentary copy of the SISA 25th anniversary commemorative book on the history of ice skating in Singapore.