SINGAPORE - Two years ago, Mr Manoj Vasudevan was the first representative from the Toastmasters Club of Singapore to reach the finals of the world's largest public speaking competition.

He was third that year.

On Saturday (Aug 26), Mr Vasudevan bagged gold in Vancouver, Canada, for this year's competition.

It is the first time that Singapore has won the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking for two years in a row.

Mr Vasudevan, 43, who is a professional speaker and coach, was the 10th speaker to take the stage out of 10 grand finalists.

The competition sees over 30,000 contestants from 142 countries.

In 2016, 28-year-old Darren Tay won the championship in Washington DC, in the United States.

Mr Tay said of the victory this year: "It is a historic win for Singapore... The World Championships is not so much a contestation but a celebration of the effort and hard work invested by all the talented speakers behind the scenes."

He added: "It is not about being a good public speaker, but doing good through public speaking that matters."