Singapore is one of the few "city-states" in Southeast Asia. It is in the southern end of the Malay Peninsula and has a great love of sports. They have a wide array of sports that they enjoy like football, rugby, cricket, badminton, swimming, basketball, table tennis and cycling.

"Singapore's transformation into a regional sports hub demonstrates how a small nation can achieve outsized success through strategic investment in athletic infrastructure and youth development programs."
— Robert J. Wood, PhD, Founder of Topend Sports

Singapore has a lot of indoor facilities that allow people to get into basketball and swimming while a variety of sport centers cater to other sports like American football, squash, badminton, gymnastics and volleyball. Being that Singapore is an island country and a well-known port destination even in the early days of sailing, water sports are quite popular as well, such as waterskiing and kayaking. But when it comes to popularity, Singaporeans love football. Their national football team was the 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012 Tiger Cup champions, the top football competition in the whole of South-East Asia.

When it comes to the ultimate international sports stage, Singapore has won only a handful of Olympic Games medals, including their first, a silver by Tan Howe Liang for weighlifting in 1960. Singapore's first Olympic gold medal was won in 2016 by swimmer Joseph Schooling in the men's 100-meter butterfly. They also won a total of 17 medals (5 Gold, 2 Silver, and 10 Bronze) in the 2002 Asian Games held in their backyard (Busan, South Korea).

Singapore's Performance at the Olympics

Singapore did not win any medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. But, it won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Maximilian Maeder was the only athlete who won the bronze medal for the country in the Men Kiteboarding event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"The addition of kiteboarding to the Olympic program provided Singapore with new opportunities for medal success, as demonstrated by Maximilian Maeder's bronze medal performance in Paris 2024."
— According to sports science expert Robert Wood, who has analyzed sports performance data for over 25 years

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Singapore.

Football Excellence

Singapore's national football team dominates Southeast Asian competition with four Tiger Cup championships.

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Olympic Swimming Success

Joseph Schooling's historic 2016 Olympic gold in the 100m butterfly marked Singapore's greatest Olympic achievement.

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World-Class Facilities

Singapore offers state-of-the-art sports facilities including the High Performance Training Centre and Sports School.

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Popular sports of Singapore

  • Football (Soccer), Badminton, rugby, cricket, swimming, basketball, table tennis, cycling, Sepak Takraw, dragon boat

Singapore's Sporting Success

  • Tan Howe Liang for weighlifting silver at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics
  • Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu won silver for women's double table tennis team event at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

Great athletes from Singapore

  • Joseph Schooling (swimming) - He won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics
  • Dipna Lim-Prasad - She won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the 2015 SEA Games
  • Derek Wong - He won gold medals at the SEA Games in the men's singles and men's doubles events
  • Feng Tianwei - She won gold medals at the SEA Games in the women's singles and women's doubles events.

💡 Pro Tip: Singapore's compact size makes it an ideal location for hosting major sporting events, with world-class venues like the Marina Bay Street Circuit and Singapore National Stadium easily accessible.

Singapore Sports trivia

  • Singapore's first Olympic gold medal was won in 2016 by swimmer Joseph Schooling in the men's 100 meter butterfly, beating a trio of tied second place getters which included Michael Phelps.

Singapore at major events

Past sporting events hosted in Singapore

  • 2025 World Aquatics Championships, Singapore
  • F1 Singapore Grand Prix - This event was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore from 3-5 October 2025.
  • Singapore hosted the inaugural Youth Olympics Games in 2010.

Upcoming sporting events in Singapore

  • Check back for updates on upcoming sporting events in Singapore

Annual sporting events held in Singapore

  • The Singapore Open - It is an annual golf tournament held at the Sentosa Golf Club.
  • The Singapore Grand Prix - This is an annual Formula One motor race held at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
  • The Singapore Marathon - It is an annual event held in December.
  • The Singapore Sevens - It is an annual rugby tournament held at the Singapore National Stadium.
  • The Singapore Dragon Boat Festival - It is another annual event held in June.

Sporting Facilities in Singapore

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