SINGAPORE – After being represented by just one athlete at its historic Asian Winter Games (AWG) debut in Kazakhstan in 2011, Team Singapore has upped its game and will be sending 22 athletes to the latest edition of the AWG which will be held in Sapporo, Japan, from Feb 18 to 26.

Besides short track speed skater Lucas Ng, who was that sole Singaporean athlete at the 2011 AWG, the Singapore squad includes Cheyenne Goh, another short track skater, figure skaters Chloe Ing and Yu Shuran, and 18 members of the national ice-hockey team.

Singapore Ice Skating Association president Sonja Chong is hopeful that the Republic will be able to make a much bigger impact at this edition of the AWG.

“Ice skating as a competitive sport in Singapore has made significant progress in the last few years,” she said.

“While our national team is fairly young, our skaters have already demonstrated excellent potential in competitions both regionally and internationally.”

Since his appearance at the 2011 AWG, Ng has gone on to qualify for and compete at the ISU World Cup and ISU World Championships every year.

Based in the South Korean city of Goyang for full-time training since last October, the 28-year-old has also clocked five personal-best (PB) times over four International Skating Union World Cup legs. Last month, he swept all three gold medals at the MapleZ SEA Short Track Trophy held in Singapore.

He will be competing in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m individual events in Sapporo,

While Ng is regarded as Singapore’s best hope for a medal at the AWG, he told TODAY that he is only focused on chalking up good performances in Japan.

“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 personal best (PB),” said Ng, who will be competing in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m individual events in Sapporo.

“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.

“Winning a medal is not my 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.”

Meanwhile, Cheyenne (above. Photo: Arno Hoogveld), who will be Singapore’s first female short track athlete at the AWG, recorded a PB in the 500m at the 2016/2017 ISU World Cup leg in Salt Lake City.

The 17-year-old, who is a student in Canada, and is also competing in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m, has also qualified for the 2017 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam in March.