SINGAPORE — Over the recent festive season, when Singaporeans were out and about celebrating with their loved ones and friends, national short-track speed skater Lucas Ng, in contrast, was alone in a foreign land, working up a sweat training on the ice rink at the Goyang Eoullimnuri Arts Centre in the South Korean city of Goyang.

While it was tough being away from his family during the festive period, it was a sacrifice that the 28-year-old had no qualms making.

After all, Ng knows that the only way he can improve enough to realise his dream of competing at the Winter Olympics one day is to commit himself 100 per cent to the sport every day.

And that is precisely why he decided to uproot himself from the comforts of home last October and head to South Korea for an undetermined period of time to train with an elite group of Korean skaters, which includes 2014 Winter Olympic gold medallist Kong Sang-jeong.

“Yes, it’s not easy being here in Korea alone without my family and friends with me,” Ng admitted to TODAY in an interview via Skype.

“That was one of the factors I considered when deciding whether I should train full-time here.

“But I ultimately decided to take the plunge because I know it’ll be worth it to be here and get access to all this top-level training and facilities. I do it for the passion (of the sport) and because I want to bring glory to Singapore in this sport by competing at the Winter Olympics.”

Ng added that while the Singapore Ice Skating Association (SISA) is partially funding his training in Korea, he is also using his savings to cover the bulk of his expenses there.

“I don’t want to count the amount of money I’ll have to spend,” he said.

While in Singapore, Ng — who used to work as a part-time skating coach — was only able to use the Olympic-sized ice rink at JCube twice a week. He still had to share the space with other public users.

In Goyang, however, Ng is able to train three times daily for six days a week, and he notes that this greater frequency has helped him greatly improve his technique.

“I’m still considered very new to this sport, and I initially had some difficulty in getting accustomed to the training intensity and culture in Korea,” said Ng, who took up the sport about six years ago.

“But now, everything is going well and the exposure I’m getting here to top-level skating has really helped me grow as a skater. With more time spent on the rink as well, I’ve been able to learn more techniques and have more opportunities to execute more things.”

Indeed, Ng appears to have reaped the rewards of regular training at a higher level, as he clocked five personal-best (PB) times over four International Skating Union World Cup legs in October and November.

Ng is currently back in Singapore to take part in the MapleZ South-east Asian Short Track Trophy, which will be held at the Rink at JCube this weekend.

He will then turn his focus to preparing for the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, in February.

It will be only the second time that Singapore will be taking part in the Games.

Ng was the Republic’s sole representative during the country’s historic debut at the multi-sport event in Kazakhstan in 2011.

Six years on, Ng is looking to make an impression in Sapporo, although he played down his chances of winning a medal at the Games.

“When I debuted at the 2011 Games, I had only picked up the sport for just two months and didn’t have access to ice training facilities, but I managed to achieve a PB,” said Ng.

“However, I’m heading to the Games now in much better shape and am better prepared to compete against the top Asian skaters. It’ll also give me a chance to execute whatever I’ve learnt in a competitive setting.

“Nonetheless, winning a medal is not something that’s a main focus for the Games.

“I’m going there to get more experience in competing at an international level. I’ll give my all, and hopefully I’ll be able to get a good ranking there.”