2026 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
recap
Team Singapore Rewrites Records at Asian Indoor Championships Despite SEA Games Turnaround
Written by Amir Rusyaidi Osman
6, 7 and 8 February 2026
Published 9 February 2026
Singapore’s contingent headed to the 2026 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin with little recovery time, as eight of the nine athletes had only just competed at the SEA Games two months ago. Yet, despite the short turnaround and the challenges of racing indoors, several national short track records were rewritten over three days of competition.
The only athlete not coming straight off SEA Games duty was pole vaulter Esther Tay, but the rest of the team arrived fresh from international campaigns — including Vanessa Lee, who had just competed at the World Cross Country Championships barely a month ago and recently set a Singapore mile record in the United States.
Most of the running events — excluding the 60m and 60m hurdles — were contested on a banked 200m indoor track at the Tuanbo Sports Center, presenting a new challenge for several Singapore athletes making their indoor debuts.
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New Ground Indoors for Singapore’s Runners
National Under-20 outdoor record holder Laavinia Jaiganth competed in her first indoor meet ever, clocking 59.14 to finish fifth in her 400m heat. She faced eventual champion Jonbibi Hukmuva of Uzbekistan in the same heat, and qualification would have required a sub-56 second performance — a tough ask in her indoor debut.
Distance standout Vanessa Lee, also competing indoors for the first time, fought through freezing conditions to finish 10th in the 1500m (5:09.76) and 9th in the 3000m (10:29.87). Considering her recent cross-country campaign and heavy racing schedule, the performances marked a respectable effort in unfamiliar indoor conditions.
The championships also saw new Singapore short track records established in the women’s 400m, 1500m and 3000m.
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Tia Louise Rozario Improves Indoor Marks Again
Tia Louise Rozario, one of Singapore’s most experienced indoor athletes thanks to five years competing in the NCAA system, entered the championships already holding national indoor records in both the long and triple jump.
Fresh from her maiden SEA Games appearance, Tia opened her triple jump campaign strongly, recording 12.78m and then improving to 12.91m in her opening attempts. However, two fouls and a final safe attempt of 12.42m meant she ultimately finished eighth.
In the long jump, she fared slightly better. Tia broke her own indoor national record on her very first attempt and improved again in the fourth round, narrowly missing the six-metre barrier. She finished seventh overall, with all six finalists exceeding six metres.
This was Tia's debut at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, and despite not finishing closer to the medals, she walked away with two new national short track records in her bag.
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Esther Tay Breaks Indoor Pole Vault Record
Pole vaulter Esther Tay continued her upward trajectory, equalling her personal best of 3.60m — first achieved in Cardiff in December 2025 — while also breaking Rachel Isabel Yang’s national indoor record of 3.50m set in 2019.
Esther now sits joint second on Singapore’s all-time list alongside Cherlin Sia, behind Rachel's national record of 3.91m, and holds the national Under-23 record jointly with Sia. She also becomes the first Singaporean woman since Yang in 2022 to clear 3.60m.
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Chen Xiang Lowers National Hurdles Record Again
Veteran hurdler Ang Chen Xiang continued his strong indoor record by lowering his own national 60m hurdles mark to 7.89 seconds. The “Flying Doctor” has now represented Singapore at the last three editions of the championships and previously competed at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, where he set his then national record of 7.91.
While he narrowly missed making the final this year — after doing so in 2023 but falling short in 2024 — the performance marks a strong start to his season.
With the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games on the horizon, Chen Xiang will now shift focus outdoors. The Asian Games qualifying standard of 13.73 in the 110m hurdles sits within reach; although timing issues prevented official recognition, he had already run a wind-legal 13.75 en route to SEA Games silver last year.
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Valuable Experience for New Indoor Debutants
Aside from Vanessa and Laavinia, several other Singapore athletes were making their indoor debuts. Long Jumper Andrew George Medina and National Record Holder in the Triple Jump Gabriel Lee competed indoors for the first time. Feng Han Lin and Daryl Tan returned with prior indoor experience, with Han Lin having competed indoors in the United Kingdom and Daryl having recently competed at an indoor meet in Qatar.
Across the board, the championships served as both a continuation of Singapore’s SEA Games momentum and an important early-season testing ground as most of the athletes now transition back to outdoor competition.
Despite fatigue from a long 2025 season and limited preparation time, the team leaves Tianjin with multiple national records and renewed confidence heading into the 2026 outdoor season.
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Team Singapore at the 2026 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships:
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Men’s 60m - Daryl Tan 6.89 q Round 1 Heat 2 4/8pos, 6.94 Semi Final 2 8/8pos
Men’s 60m Hurdles - Ang Chen Xiang 7.89 Round 1 Heat 1 3/5pos (iNR)
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Men’s Long Jump - Andrew George Medina 6.97 10/15pos, Feng Han Lin 6.77 14/15pos
Men’s Triple Jump - Gabriel Lee 15.08m 8/8pos
Women’s 400m - Laavinia Jaiganth 59.14 Round 1 Heat 2 5/5pos (New Record)
Women’s 1500m - Vanessa Lee 5:09.76 10/10pos (New Record)
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Women’s 3000m - Vanessa Lee 10:29.87 9/10pos (iNR)
Women’s Pole Vault - Esther Tay 3.60 6/6pos (iNR)
Women’s Triple Jump - Tia Louise Rozario 12.91 8/9pos (iNR)
Women’s Long Jump - Tia Louise Rozario - 5.96 7/14pos (iNR)
* results obtained via Singapore Athletics archives and the respective World Athletics pages