Singapore ski body sets target of five Winter Olympians for 2030 after Faiz Basha’s debut

SINGAPORE – When Alpine skier Faiz Basha became Singapore’s second-ever Winter Olympian recently, it also fulfilled a 12-year dream of Singapore Ski and Snowboard Association (SSSA) president Marco Bardelli.

For over a decade, Bardelli’s to-do list included having a skier from the Republic qualify for the quadrennial showpiece.

Now that this target has been met, Bardelli is aiming even higher. He has now set a goal of having five athletes fly the Singapore flag at the next Winter Olympics, which will take place in the French Alps in 2030.

After his debut at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, Faiz said he still has “a lot more fire” in him, with the 24-year-old now aiming to compete in at least two more Games.

The pair spoke to the media at the National Gallery on March 16, on the sidelines of a special screening of Ski Dreams – a feature documentary which chronicles the journey of two Singaporean winter sports athletes, Faiz and female skier Morgan Celley, 19.

The hour-long documentary, which is produced by Beach House Pictures, is planned for release on Mediacorp platforms in April.

Bardelli, who was also the team manager for Singapore’s 2026 Winter Olympics contingent, said: “The dream you saw today (Faiz’s Olympic debut) is my dream from 12 years ago, when I started to look for athletes to send to the Olympics.

“My dream in 2030 is that it will be five (athletes from Singapore). If we can have five athletes in different disciplines, that would be fantastic. That’s my dream. So let’s see in four years.”

While the absence of mountains and snow on this small island near the Equator meant that it will always be a challenge to develop snow sport athletes, the SSSA is committed to finding overseas-based talent with links to Singapore.

Bardelli, a Singaporean who has been with SSSA for more than a decade, said: “At the moment, (we are trying through) word of mouth.

“But I think the success of Faiz and maybe also this documentary will create more awareness for families that are living in geographical locations where they’re close to mountains and snow, and maybe inspire them.

“If the kids aged five to seven years old can start to ski with a ski club and the school and if there are others like Faiz and Morgan, they can reach out to us, so then we can evaluate and see if they can join the national team.”

Bardelli’s optimism stems from the emergence of young talent such as US-based Caroline Chor, a 15-year-old ski jumper who represented Singapore at the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Norway earlier in March and short track speed skater Ryo Ong, 19, who reached the men’s 1,500m B final at the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics.

Bardelli also pointed to another sign of encouragement, noting that he had heard from ski resort operators that the number of Singaporeans visiting ski resorts in Japan and China is increasing, which shows rising interest from locals.

In February, Faiz became Singapore’s second representative at the Winter Olympics, after short track speed skater Cheyenne Goh’s historic debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

On Feb 14, Faiz recorded a Did Not Finish (DNF) in the first run of the giant slalom event at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy.

But he battled through driving snow in his first slalom run two days later to clock a time of 2 min 20.45 sec across two runs to finish 35th. It was an impressive feat for the Singaporean, given that more than half of the 96 competitors recorded a DNF owing to the tough conditions.

While the University of Strathclyde mechanical engineering undergraduate has to catch up on his studies in the coming months, he is itching to get back on his skis to prepare for his next major competitions – the 2027 World University Games in Chungcheong, South Korea, the 2027 Alpine World Ski Championships in Switzerland and the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

Noting that he had been positively surprised by the numerous words of encouragement he received from Singaporeans during his Olympics appearance, Faiz said: “This Olympics was just two races, and it was a whole lifetime of training to get to this point.

“So I do have a bit of a post-Olympics depression. I wish I was still in the journey. But it’s a good time to reflect a bit and reset my goals. And I have a lot more fire in me and I’m still intending to do more.”

While Faiz became the first Singaporean Alpine skier at the Winter Olympics, Celley’s dreams of being the first female Singaporean skier at the Games were dashed by an injury.

During a training session in New Zealand last August, she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her left knee, which scuppered her bid to qualify for the Olympics in the women’s slalom.

The documentary showcased Celley’s introduction to the sport, her journey towards qualification and the eventual mishap.

Celley, who has an American father and a Singaporean mother, moved to the United States when she was six. She has been skiing competitively in the US and hopes to achieve her Olympic dream at the next edition.

She said: “I’m only 19. I feel like I’ve plenty more good years left in me, and four years from now, hopefully I get bigger, stronger, better, more skilled.”

On Faiz’s impact, Celley added: “I think it’s only the start. Faiz has done such a good job at this past Olympics, bringing Singapore into this world of winter sports. And I think in the future, we’re only just going to get more and more athletes. We’re going to try our best to spread the word about it.”