Exploring niche sports that have the potential to elevate Singapore on the world stage.
Tchoukball may not be the first sport that comes to mind when thinking about Singapore’s athletic achievements, but the women’s team recently proved that the country is capable of dominating even niche sports. On January 1, the team climbed to the top of the global Tchoukball rankings, overcoming traditional powerhouses like Chinese Taipei. Surprisingly, they did not discover their historic achievement until later in the month. Team captain Irene Tan admitted that the players do not regularly check rankings, showing a refreshing approach to the pressures of competitive sports.
Tchoukball itself is a relatively obscure sport, one that may be unfamiliar to many. Played indoors, it involves teams attempting to throw a ball at a rebounder, a trampoline-like frame, with points scored when the ball bounces outside a designated zone without being intercepted. While the sport originated in Switzerland in the 1960s, it gained traction in Singapore after the Tchoukball Association of Singapore was established in 2008. Despite its success at the international level, including a world number 3 ranking for the men’s team, local schools have been shutting down tchoukball clubs in favor of more mainstream sports. This paradox highlights how Singapore has yet to fully embrace its growing niche sports scene.
The challenge, as highlighted by Delane Lim, president of the Tchoukball Association, lies in the lack of financial support for these lesser-known sports. The Singapore government allocates significant funds for high-performance sports, but niche sports often miss out due to their smaller fanbases and limited commercial potential. Even within the sports community, athletes in such sports are often left to self-fund their participation, as their national associations typically do not qualify for government subsidies.
This scenario calls into question the logic of prioritizing mainstream sports at the expense of promising niche ones that could lead to international glory. In fact, Singapore’s success in less widely recognized sports offers a glimpse of how the country could dominate on a global scale in the future. For example, indoor skydiving, kitefoiling, and underwater hockey have all seen impressive performances by local athletes, despite receiving less media attention.
Kyra Poh, a standout in indoor skydiving, clinched multiple medals at the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving, including a gold in April. Meanwhile, kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder, just 15 years old, has already claimed victories in multiple international competitions, including two youth world championships and the Formula Kite European Championships. These athletes, like the women’s tchoukball team, have proven that Singapore has untapped potential in niche sports.
Another such sport is underwater hockey, which was included in the SEA Games for the first time in 2019. The Singaporean team excelled in the competition, winning both the men’s and women’s gold medals. Even esports, with titles like Mobile Legends, have seen success on the global stage, with Singapore’s national team securing a bronze medal at the 31st SEA Games.
As Singapore continues to push the boundaries in traditional sports like swimming and badminton, it should also consider cultivating and investing in its niche sports. These sports may not draw large crowds or generate massive sponsorship deals, but they offer an opportunity for the country to shine in areas that have not yet been fully explored. By providing more financial support and recognition, Singapore could become a global powerhouse in a range of sports that are still waiting for their moment in the spotlight.
