Team Singapore among delegations at Winter Games from tropical, desert climates

HARBIN: Competition is in full swing at the Asian Winter Games in northeast China’s Harbin and in the spotlight are not just those from winter sport powerhouses, but those hailing from nations without snow.

About two-thirds of the record 35 delegations at this year’s Games are from tropical and desert climate nations, including Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia.

Among the Singaporean competitors is alpine skier Faiz Basha, who ahead of the Games, trained for hours in Singapore’s monsoon downpours - the best alternative environment he could find to train in.

"This was the only way that I could maintain the level that I had. I knew that if I wasn't going to ski for two years, that I would lose a lot of ability,” he told CNA, referring to his National Service stint during which he could not travel overseas to train on the mountains.

The 22-year-old became Singapore's first national alpine skier in 2021, and is flying the country's flag at the Games which started last week.

Faiz picked up the sport while growing up in Switzerland and competed in international races to gain experience. 

His coach encouraged him to set his sights on the Olympics given his skills, he said. Still, a Singaporean in winter sports typically raises eyebrows.

“I always get a lot of questions like ‘how do you train?’ How do you do all this when you know Singapore has no slopes at all?’,” he said.

“But for me, I find it a point of pride that even though we don't have all of these facilities, that I can still be able to reach the level that I reach."

Since finishing his NS two years ago, he has been training as much as he can, which has put him in good stead to compete against other Asians, he said. 

“I don't think my level is as competitive as in Europe. I