Pesta Sukan: Racquet Sports That Shaped Singapore’s Sporting Story

From Neighbourhood Courts to World Champions

From its colonial roots to today’s international stage, racquet sports have played a defining role in uniting Singaporeans across generations. Pesta Sukan has been pivotal in elevating neighbourhood favorites into nationally celebrated passions. From colonial courts to championship podiums, these sports have long connected Singaporeans across generations. Pesta Sukan has been central to their rise, turning neighbourhood favourites into national passions.

From Neighbourhood Courts to World Champions

Badminton has been a staple sport of Singaporean culture for over a century - with the familiar ‘thwock’ sound of a shuttlecock reverberating around our neighbourhoods. The British brought the sport here in the early 19th century, and we enjoyed a Golden era post-WWII when a Malayan team swept the Thomas Cup 3 times in 1949, 1952, 1955. 

Pesta Sukan featured Badminton events from the beginning, held at the Singapore Badminton Hall. They weren't just sporting events, they were cultural happenings, so electric that they famously brought down a wall during a Rolling Stones concert in 1965. This vibrant atmosphere nurtured champions like Fu Mingtian, our first SEA Games women’s singles Gold Medalist, and Loh Kean Yew, our first Men’s Singles World Champion with his 2021 BWF World Championships win as well as celebrated players Terry Hee and Jessica Tan, who continue to inspire new generations.

Paddling to the Podium

Table Tennis has a rich history in Singapore, and we owe half of our total Olympic medal tally to our paddlers. This modified version of lawn tennis was first played with cigar box lids and golf balls and was brought here by the British in the 1920s. 

We have since made the sport our own, establishing the Singapore Table Tennis Association in 1931. Our national achievements are legendary. Paddlers like Loh Heng Chew and Poon Weng Hoe won our only Asian Championship Gold in 1954, and in the past 13 SEA Games Singapore has topped the Table-Tennis medal tally 12 times. In this century, Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu are household names for their heroic 3-medal haul in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Izaac Quek became the youngest Singaporean male player and youngest local-born player to qualify for the Olympics Games.

A Wall-Breaking Legacy

Squash first arrived on Singapore’s shores in the 1800s, with courts mostly found in country clubs and military bases. The sport’s popularity rose in the 1960s and 1970s to the extent that long queues to play could be found at public squash courts in Fort Canning Hill and East Coast, leading to the founding of Singapore Squash Rackets Association in 1970.

The most decorated squash player in the sport’s history in Singapore is currently Zainal Abidin, with 11 National Titles, 9 East Asian Championship Titles and the 1987 Sportsman of the Year Award to his name. Zainal, together with others such as Peter Hill, and Anthony Chua put Singapore’s name on the world map of squash, bringing Singapore a 6^th place finish in the 1985 World Men’s Teams event, our nation’s highest placement yet. Such was Zainal’s skill that in 1989, Zainal beat then World Champion and world number one Ross Norman in the finals of the Penang Squash Open, surprising the squash world. Singapore’s women’s squash athletes have also made their mark in the world of squash, with Mah Li Lian winning the Asian Individual Championships four times, Della Lee winning Gold at the 1992 and 1994 Asian Women’s Team Championships and the 1993 SEA Games Women’s team event, and Lim Seok Hui, who set a record for winning the 1984 East Asian Championships at the age of 17.

Since then, our squash athletes have done us proud at events in the region and beyond. Singapore dominated early SEA Games competition, sweeping all gold medals in 1991 and repeating the feat in 1993. More recently, Singapore has won SEA Games Gold medals at the Men’s Jumbo Doubles event in 2015, followed by a bigger haul in 2017 where Singapore won Gold for the Jumbo Doubles in both the Women and Men’s categories, as well as the Men’s Team event.

Our junior athletes have also made waves in the region and beyond. In 2025, our Girl’s team earned a Bronze at the Asian Junior Team Championships in Hong Kong, and four gold medals at the 2025 Southeast Asian Junior Individual Championships, making this Singapore’s largest haul since the event started in 2023.

Colonial Beginnings, Global Ambitions

From its origins as a colonial pastime, tennis in Singapore has charted a steady rise, growing from quiet country club lawns to major international tournaments. Along this journey, Pesta Sukan has played a pivotal role, elevating tennis into a sport that reflects not just competition, but community pride and national potential.

In the 1950s, tennis in Singapore found its first local hero in Ong Chew Bee. A trailblazer, Ong became the first Singaporean to compete at both Wimbledon and the French Championships, a feat that placed Singapore on the regional tennis map. He was also part of the Malayan team in the 1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, earning a bronze medal - Singapore’s early signal of tennis promise.

By 1971, this growing enthusiasm culminated in Pesta Sukan hosting the first “Asian Wimbledon”, attracting elite players from across the continent. This event not only raised Singapore’s profile in the region but also symbolised tennis’s shift from a niche elite sport to a platform of wider participation.

• In more recent years, players like Stefanie Tan reignited national hopes. A two-time ITF title winner, Stefanie made headlines with her SEA Games bronze medal in 2017, Singapore’s first in tennis in 22 years.
• Roy Hobbs, Singapore’s most successful Davis Cup athlete, reached the country’s highest ever ATP rankings in both singles and doubles.
• Shaheed Alam became part of the national TeamSG setup at the age of 16 in 2014. He's the first Singaporean Male ITF Junior Singles title winner. 

Through each swing, smash, and serve, racquet sports have woven threads of community, competitive spirit, and national pride into Singapore’s sporting tapestry. Pesta Sukan has been at the heart of this transformation, celebrating grassroots grit, nurturing champions, and inspiring future generations.

As we rally behind our participants at Pesta Sukan 2025 and beyond, these sports remind us that every shuttle hit, paddle flick, racket swing, and serve is part of an ongoing story that connects us - past, present, and future.