Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

has sent athletes to most Summer Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

 held since 1948, when it was established as a separate British Crown Colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

 from the Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements

The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...

 just over three months before the commencement of the 1948 Summer Olympics

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...

. It continued to send a team to the Games until 1964

1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...

 when Singapore was part of Malaysia, which sent a combined team. Upon Singapore's full independence from Malaysia in 1965, the country continued to participate in all subsequent editions of the Summer Games except in 1980

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

 when the country participated in a large Olympic boycott. No athletes from Singapore have competed in any Winter Olympic Games

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

.

The country has won two Olympic medals, one in the 1960 Summer Games

Singapore at the 1960 Summer Olympics

Singapore competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. This marked the first and only time Singapore competed at the Olympics as a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom under what would later become the national flag...

, and one at the 2008 Summer Games

Singapore at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Singapore competed in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.The following athletes have qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, although the final selection of names for some events may change are dependent on the relevant...

.

The first medal was won by Tan Howe Liang

Tan Howe Liang

Tan Howe Liang is a weightlifter from Singapore who earned himself a place in history as the first Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal. He did this in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where he won the silver medal in the lightweight category...

, who won a silver medal in lightweight weightlifting in 1960

1960 Summer Olympics

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

.

In table tennis

Table tennis at the Summer Olympics

Table tennis competition has been in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988, with singles and doubles events for both men and women. Athletes from China have dominated the sport, winning a total of 41 medals in 24 events, including 20 gold medals.-Events:...

, Jing Jun Hong

Jing Jun Hong

Jing Junhong was a professional table tennis player for the Singapore national team. Born in Shanghai, she has represented Singapore in sporting events since the 1980s, and has since retired...

 and Li Jiawei came close to winning medals by finishing in fourth place at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics respectively. Singapore sent a big contingent to the Beijing Olympics, and many felt that with many 'home' players in Singapore's squad, this was their best chance of winning a medal since 1960 - they were proven right.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Li, together with Feng Tianwei

Feng Tianwei

Feng Tianwei is a Singaporean table tennis player, ranked sixth in the world as a singles player as of April 2011. Born in China, she began training in Singapore in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis the following month...

 and Wang Yuegu

Wang Yuegu

Wang Yuegu is a China-born Singaporean table tennis player who is ranked among the top ten players in the world. Wang made her inaugural appearance as a Singaporean on the International Table Tennis Federation Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she...

, beat the South Korea Women's Table Tennis team

South Korea at the 2008 Summer Olympics

South Korea competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This is a list of all of the South Korean athletes who qualified for the Olympics and their results...

, composed of Dang Ye Seo, Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young 3-2 in the semi-finals, assuring Singapore of at least a silver medal, ending Singapore's 48-year Olympic medal drought. Singapore faced host China

China at the 2008 Summer Olympics

China was the host nation of the 2008 Summer Olympics.China was represented by the Chinese Olympic Committee , and the team of selected athletes were officially known as Team China....

 in the gold medal final.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event
	Tan Howe Liang Tan Howe Liang Tan Howe Liang is a weightlifter from Singapore who earned himself a place in history as the first Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal. He did this in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where he won the silver medal in the lightweight category...	1960 Rome 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...	Weightlifting Weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics The weightlifting competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome consisted of seven weight classes, all for men only.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:...	Lightweight
	Feng Tianwei Feng Tianwei Feng Tianwei is a Singaporean table tennis player, ranked sixth in the world as a singles player as of April 2011. Born in China, she began training in Singapore in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis the following month... , Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu Wang Yuegu Wang Yuegu is a China-born Singaporean table tennis player who is ranked among the top ten players in the world. Wang made her inaugural appearance as a Singaporean on the International Table Tennis Federation Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she...	2008 Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...	Table tennis Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics Table tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 13 to August 23, at the Peking University Gymnasium. The competition featured the team events for the first time, replacing the doubles events competed in previous games...	Women's team

Medals by sport

Table tennis Table tennis at the Summer Olympics Table tennis competition has been in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988, with singles and doubles events for both men and women. Athletes from China have dominated the sport, winning a total of 41 medals in 24 events, including 20 gold medals.-Events:...	0	1	0	1
Weightlifting Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics Weightlifting has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the 1920 Summer Olympics, as well as twice before then. It debuted at the 1896 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, and was also an event at the 1904 Games.-Men's events:...	0	1	0	1
Total	0	2	0	2