From his first international competition as a child to World Cups, the Asian Games and SEA Games, Singapore speed climber Denzel Chua has grown up measuring himself against increasingly tougher competition. Now, with Los Angeles 2028 ahead, he wants to find out how far that journey can go.
Denzel Chua was only 12 when he first represented Singapore internationally.
The experience at the 2017 Asian Kids Championships did not leave him thinking about how good he already was. Instead, it showed him how much better he would have to become.
That perspective has followed Chua throughout his development as an athlete.
He went on to compete across bouldering, lead and speed before eventually specialising in speed climbing. Along the way, he represented Singapore at World Cup level, competed at the Asian Games and SEA Games, and spent part of his junior college years balancing international climbing with competitive football and his studies.
Official Team Singapore records describe Chua as one of Singapore’s young speed climbers and note that he won three consecutive national championships across bouldering and speed at youth level. At the 2025 SEA Games, he finished seventh in the men’s speed event.
His sporting life outside climbing was equally demanding. Victoria Junior College records show that Chua was part of the team that won the A Division Boys’ Football Championship in 2022 while continuing his climbing commitments. He subsequently received the VJC Sports Excellence Award and Singapore Schools Sports Council Colours Award, while the school also recognised his academic performance.
In September 2026, Chua finished 15th at the World Climbing Challenger in Shanghai, where he recorded a 5.542 second run. For perspective, the standard at the top of international men’s speed climbing has become exceptionally high, with World Climbing reporting that 21 athletes broke five seconds during qualification at its Wujiang competition earlier this year.
Chua therefore knows exactly how difficult the next step will be.
His ambitions now extend from winning on the international stage to becoming consistently competitive on the world circuit. Beyond that sits Los Angeles 2028, where speed climbing will finally stand as its own Olympic medal discipline and only 14 men will qualify from around the world.
Metropolitant spoke to Chua about growing up in international sport, the intimidating experience of meeting athletes he had previously only watched online, the chaotic years of balancing football and climbing, and why knowing that a goal is difficult has never been enough reason not to pursue it.
You started representing Singapore internationally when you were still very young. Looking back now, how did being exposed to international competition so early change the way you saw yourself as an athlete?
I represented Singapore internationally for the first time at the 2017 Asian Kids Championships. I was 12 at the time. Competing internationally really gave me perspective on how strong the level was outside of Singapore. I realised that my level was still really far off and I had to put in a lot more work to close the gap.
Additionally, it was a huge honour to compete for the country, and it was something I felt very proud about. I knew that I wanted to return and be more competitive.
You have already experienced youth competitions, a World Cup, the Asian Games, the SEA Games and other international events. Which experience made you realise just how different the international sporting level was from what you had previously known?
I would say my first World Cup was really a huge eye opener. I was still only 17 when I went for it, and I went up against the best in the world.
Just warming up against them was quite intimidating, and through the warm up climbs you could really see the differences in the level. I had previously only watched these World Cup climbers on YouTube, so seeing how fast they were in real life was really surreal.
At VJC, you were balancing competitive climbing, championship football and your studies at the same time. What did that period teach you about discipline and managing your priorities?
It was an extremely hectic period. There was one week when I played a football game on Tuesday, had climbing training on Wednesday, football training on Thursday, a flight to Indonesia on Friday, competed at my first World Cup on Saturday, flew back on Sunday, and had another football game on the Monday after that.
During that period, I learnt how to utilise my time well, using whatever free time I had to study or do my recovery, and studying ahead whenever possible. I had to sacrifice time with my friends and family too, as I had to juggle my many commitments.
But at the end of it, I felt really fulfilled as I managed to do many things that I enjoyed even though it was very tiring.
You have competed across bouldering, lead and speed, as well as football. Do you think being exposed to different sports and climbing disciplines made you a more complete athlete than if you had specialised in speed from the beginning?
I do think so. I think as a youth it is important to be exposed to a larger variety of sports and experiences. I think my experiences with different sports and disciplines helped to build up much of a mental game for competing.
That being said, the three disciplines in climbing and football are all very different to compete in. When I specialised in speed climbing, I realised that there was still a lot to learn in terms of managing your head during a competition, and I am still in the process of working out what is best for me.
You have already experienced a lot for someone still at the beginning of his adult sporting career. When you look ahead now, what experiences and goals are you still hungry to pursue?
I think that there is still much more to give. I haven’t won on an international stage yet, and that is something I definitely want to achieve, particularly at one of the major Games.
I would also like to be competitive on the world circuit and have the experience of being in the fight at every competition I go to.
I guess the dream is really getting into the Olympics, which is a super steep goal, with only 14 spots available in the whole world for my event for 2028. But I’m still hungry to try and see how far I can go.
I would rather have the disappointment from failing than the regret of never trying.
The gap is still there. So is the desire to close it.
There is an appealing honesty in the way Chua talks about his career.
He does not describe himself as someone destined for the Olympics. He readily acknowledges that he has yet to win internationally, that he is still figuring out how to manage himself mentally during competition, and that some of the world’s fastest climbers remain significantly quicker.
His Olympic ambition is similarly grounded in reality.
World Climbing has confirmed that only 14 men will compete in speed climbing at Los Angeles 2028, with qualification opportunities beginning through major competitions in 2027 before continuing into the 2028 Olympic qualification series. Each country will also be limited to a maximum of two athletes in the discipline.
For a Singapore athlete attempting to break into that field, there is no easy route.
Yet that difficulty connects almost perfectly with the lesson Chua learnt at 12.
His first international competition showed him that the standard outside Singapore was much higher than what he had previously known. Instead of interpreting the gap as evidence that he did not belong, he treated it as something to work towards.
At 17, some of the athletes he had once watched on YouTube were suddenly warming up beside him at a World Cup.
Today, he is no longer satisfied simply to share the competition floor with them. He wants to reach the point where he can genuinely fight for places and victories.
Whether that ultimately leads to Los Angeles remains unanswered.
Perhaps that uncertainty is precisely what makes his story worth following.
Denzel Chua is not telling us a story about reaching the top. He is still climbing towards it, fully aware of how difficult the route might be.
For anyone trying to pursue something that feels slightly beyond reach, his reason for continuing is probably the part worth remembering most.
“I would rather have the disappointment from failing than the regret of never trying.”
All image credits: Denzel Chua (Instagram)