On This Day In 2011, Singapore Made Its Debut At The Asian Winter Games

Snow and ice may not be our thing (unless we’re talking about ice kachang, or Snow City). But Singapore made history today 14 years ago (30 Jan 2011) when Lucas Ng competed at the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

It was our country’s debut at a major winter sporting event.

Lucas sporting a long ponytail of braids, and warming up before the heats at the 2011 Asian Winter Games. | IMAGE: SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE@TEDx

One athlete, big dreams

Lucas proudly represented our Little Red Dot as the Lion City's only athlete in Kazakhstan, competing in the short track speed skating event (men’s 500m and 1,000m).

The then-22-year-old gave it his all, though he didn’t make it past the heats. Still, just making it to the big stage was a win for Singapore’s winter sports dreams.

Lucas was among the pioneer batch of ice speed skaters in Singapore. Fun fact: He enlisted for National Service (NS) after the games, signing on to the Naval Diving Unit, training as both a diver and an athlete during his NS. Today, Lucas, now 35, is part of the Team Singapore roller skating team.

From 1 Singapore athlete at the Asian Winter Games to 22

Singapore’s debut at the 2011 Asian Winter Games paved the way for bigger things.

By the next 2017 Asian Winter Games in Japan, Singapore sent 22 athletes to compete in short track speed skating, figure skating, and even ice hockey. Lucas was Singapore's flagbearer at the opening ceremony of the games.

In figure skating, Yu Shuran placed 6th overall, while her teammate, Chloe Ing finished 11th.

Our ice hockey team finished 10th in the standings.

Lucas once again competed in the short track speed skating event, and was joined by Cheyenne Goh, who would later become the first Singaporean to compete at the Winter Olympics.

For the latest updates on Wonderwall.sg, be sure to follow us on TikTok, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook. If you have a story idea for us, email us at [email protected].