Team Singapore returned home with an impressive haul of seven medals from the inaugural World Yogasana Sports Championship held in Ahmedabad, India, marking a significant milestone for the growing sport in the Republic.
Competing against athletes from around the world at the championship from June 4 to 8, the six-member Singapore contingent secured two gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals in what was the first global championship dedicated to yogasana as a competitive sport.
The team, coached by James Ng, resident teacher at Peculiar Yogi studio in Bugis, returned to Singapore on June 9 after a performance that exceeded expectations.
The championship represented a landmark moment for yogasana, a discipline that evaluates participants on the precision, alignment, flexibility, balance and control of yoga postures. Unlike traditional yoga classes that focus on wellness and mindfulness, yogasana is emerging internationally as a structured competitive sport.
Singapore’s breakthrough performance was led by Nathaniel Tan Leong An, who clinched the country’s first gold medal in the Traditional Yoga (Male) category. He also added a bronze medal in the Twisting Body (Male) category.
What made the achievement even more remarkable was that Nathaniel only began practising yoga in early 2024.
Another standout performer was Sng Jia Hui, who delivered Singapore’s most successful individual campaign. He captured gold in the Back Bend (Male) category and secured silver medals in both Hand Balance and Forward Bend events.
Like Nathaniel, Jia Hui took up yoga only about two years ago, making his rapid rise on the international stage particularly noteworthy.
Among the female competitors, Gwen Ong, a practitioner with five years of experience, contributed two bronze medals in the Supine (Female) and Back Bend (Female) categories.
The remaining members of the team, Priscill Koh and Grace Leong, received certificates of participation after successfully qualifying to represent Singapore at the world championship in their first year of competition.
James described the results as extraordinary for a country that does not yet have a formal national yogasana federation.
“For a country with no formal yogasana federation yet, to walk into a world championship and come home with gold is extraordinary,” the coach said.
“What’s even more remarkable is that some of these athletes have only been practising for two years. It tells you something about the calibre of yoga talent quietly developing in Singapore and about what’s possible when we give it a competitive pathway.”
The team’s success has already attracted recognition from the Indian High Commission in Singapore.
In acknowledgement of their achievements, the athletes were personally invited by India’s High Commissioner to Singapore to attend the International Day of Yoga 2026 celebrations at Gardens by the Bay on June 21.
The achievement also shines a spotlight on Peculiar Yogi, the community-focused studio in the Bugis-Arab Street district where the athletes trained.
The studio offers a range of yoga disciplines, including Ashtanga, Hatha, Flow and Yin Yoga, while promoting yoga as an inclusive practice accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.
