From multi-award-winning swimmers like Jocelin Yeo and Pat Chan to track and field stalwarts like Tang Pui Wah and Mary Klass, Singapore has a rich history of producing gifted Olympians. Today, our sportswomen continue to make waves locally and around the world. Get to know the female athletes currently representing Singapore! In conjunction with International Women’s Day this 8 March, we’d like to recognise the impressive records and unprecedented feats of our country’s leading sports ladies.

Singapore Women Table Tennis Team – Feng Tianwei, Lin Ye, Yu Mengyu, Li Jiawei, Sun Beibei
and Wang Yuegu

You might have heard that Singaporean paddler Feng Tianwei fought her way into the quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Cup Finals held in Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Arena in December 2021. She’s currently ranked among the 10 best female table tennis players in the world.

Tianwei and her teammates, Lin Ye and Yu Mengyu, have all won gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and Mengyu defeated a few highly ranked paddlers at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Tianwei and Mengyu, together with Li Jiawei, Sun Beibei and Wang Yuegu, won a team gold at the 2010 World Table Tennis Championships.

Feng Tianwei. PHOTO: SPORT SINGAPORE

Singapore Olympic Fencers – Kiria Tikanah and Amita Berthier

Kiria Tikanah and Amita Berthier, both 21 years old, put on unforgettable performances at the recent Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. In the women’s épée event (using the heaviest weapons and the entire body as an available target), Olympic debutante Tikanah came within a point of defeating world number one Ana Maria Popescu of Romania. Berthier made history as Singapore’s first female fencer to qualify for the Olympics. She put on a thrilling battle against her American training partner and world number five, Lee Kiefer, who went on to win the Olympic gold of the women’s foil event.

Kiria Tikanah and Amita Berthier. PHOTO: SPORT SINGAPORE

Singapore Swimmer – Amanda Lim

Known as “the fastest woman in Southeast Asian swimming”, Amanda earned her nickname after winning the 50m freestyle event at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane. She currently holds three national records in the 4x100m and 4×200 freestyle relays, and 4x100m medley relay. Recently, she set up Athletic Inc Academy, which works to support the education and careers of current and former athletes.

Singapore Shooter – Adele Tan

Adele Tan, who will turn 23 this month, clinched the gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the H&N Cup in 2020 and went on to finish at 21st place at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics — placing her top among Singaporean Olympic shooters.

“Although I hope for better, but I feel that overall I’m quite satisfied with how I controlled myself emotionally,” Tan said to the Straits Times after her Olympic debut. “And I think that’s the most important thing because I know that throughout this whole process that I have not only matured as a shooter but as a person.”

Singapore Paralympian Swimmer – Yip Pin Xiu

“Beyond her sporting achievements, Pin Xiu has used her public prominence and platform to make valuable contributions to society,” remarked President of Singapore, Madam Halimah Yacob, when conferring the inaugural President’s Award for Inspiring Achievement to sporting superstar Yip Pin Xiu in February 2022.

When Pin Xiu developed muscular dystrophy at age two, her family introduced her to swimming, hoping that it would help strengthen her legs. They did not expect that she would flourish in the sport and go on to set world records at the Paralympic Games. Pin Xiu has previously disclosed that she grew up feeling insecure about her disability. Today, however, she confidently champions equality and inclusion for differently abled persons, and encourages them to chase their dreams.

Yip Pin Xiu. PHOTO: SPORT SINGAPORE

This is just a small sample of the many Singaporean women that have been making the country proud on the international sporting stage! As the nation continues to invest in and nurture local athletes, we’re sure to see many more inspirational victories as the years go on — and welcome many of them to train in Singapore Sports Hub.