Singapore’s alpine skier Faiz Basha back on the mountains; targets 2026 Winter Olympics

SINGAPORE – Alpine skier Faiz Basha’s only way of retaining his skiing skills for the best part of the last two years had been to in-line skate up and down a running track that encircles the National Stadium.

It is far away from the snow in the Alps, where he used to train regularly before he enlisted for national service. But that has not stopped him and, having completed his military obligations in June, Faiz has returned to competitive skiing with the ultimate goal of featuring at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The 21-year-old Singaporean has spent the last three months training and competing in New Zealand under coach Alessio Bonardi and was buoyed by his performances at various competitions, including his near top-30 finish at the Aug 28-Sept 2 slalom event of the Winter Games at the Coronet Peak ski area in Queenstown.

Faiz, who was 33rd out of 94 competitors, said: “It does feel good to be competing again and I am happy with the momentum of my improvements during this Southern Hemisphere season.

“During NS, I never contemplated giving up the sport. I tried to make the most of what I had to train and keep myself conditioned, knowing that a lot of work was awaiting me once I returned to the snow. I know my talent and I don’t want it to go to waste.”

He had qualified for his first Winter Games – part of the International Ski Federation’s Alpine Ski Continental Cup series – by earning points in various competitions, such as finishing 29th at the Coronet Cup, 25th at the Wanaka FIS Tech Series and 27th at the New Zealand National Championships.

Alpine skiing is one of the Winter Olympics’ signature competitions. Faiz competes in the slalom and giant slalom categories along with Singaporean female skier Morgan Anne Celley, who is recuperating from an injury.

In the slalom, skiers speed down a slope that has a vertical descent of 140m to 220m and turn through “gates” that are spaced 6m to 13m apart.

Slalom skiers have to pass through two courses. Giant slalom is similar but with higher speeds and larger turns, where the vertical descents are between 250m and 450m, with the gates spaced up to 20m apart.

Faiz also hopes to compete in the World Ski Championships and Asian Winter Games, both in 2025. He has since put his overseas university studies on hold for a year – he was set to start his mechanical engineering course in September – to pursue skiing full time in France from November to May.

“My long-term objectives have always been to represent Singapore with a performance comparable to the European giants in ski racing and I believe I am starting to reach this goal,” said Faiz, who in 2019 was featured by several online outlets for his proposed redesign of the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) system map.

Marco Bardelli, chairman of the Singapore Ski and Snowboard Association (SSSA), said he was impressed by Faiz’s results in New Zealand and noted the skier had shown improvement.

He added: “He has more confidence about his capabilities, which allows him to push for more speed without fear of falling.

“This puts him in a great state of mind and physical form to successfully engage with the upcoming racing winter season in Europe. In collaboration with Sport Singapore, the SSSA will support Faiz in his future plans.”