As part of Her World’s Health and Wellness Report 2022, where we surveyed over 6,000 women in Singapore, we bring to attention some of the key areas our readers are most interested in through personal stories. And in this three-part series on physical health, we shine the spotlight on women who are at the top of their game in traditionally male-dominated sports.
Xu Liting is a communications consultant who rock climbs competitively and who has won all of the main bouldering competitions in Singapore at least once. The 33-year-old tells us about what she loves about the sport and what she makes of its gender dynamics.

“I was introduced to climbing when I got a job as a programmes manager at a climbing gym while studying for my degree. I got hooked on it pretty quickly because it is different from other sports – it involves an element of problem solving. Every time I go to the gym, I’m faced with various ‘problems’ of varying complexities, so every session is exciting.
I’m not a professional as I don’t get paid to do it, so I need a full-time job to earn a living. However, I’ve competed both locally and internationally and have won all of the main bouldering competitions in Singapore at least once. One of my favourite competitions was the 2019 Moonboard Masters, in which anyone across the globe could take part remotely using a standardised set-up. I won the international competition and got sponsored by the company that organised it.