24-year-old Singaporean Li Shengwu graduated five months ago as the top economics student at Oxford University. He was crowned Best Speaker at the just-concluded World Universities Debating Championships in Turkey.
Mr Li, a master's student in economics at Oxford, took the top individual honour at the event - known colloquially as the "Worlds" and regarded as the most prestigious debating tournament in the world.
He is the third Singaporean to receive the award, cementing Singapore's status as a debate powerhouse. Since 1981, when the competition began, all Asian winners have been Singaporean.
Country-wise, Singapore is ranked fourth in terms of Best Speaker winners, behind Australia, Canada and England.
That is very good for a country of five million, the competition's unofficial historian, Mr Colm Flynn, noted.
The first Singaporean Best Speaker winner was Ms Chitra Jenardhanan in 1995. Representing Nanyang Technological University, she was also the first woman and the first Asian to take the trophy.
In 2003, Dr Tan Wu Meng, representing Cambridge University, won it.
Mr Li, a master's student in economics at Oxford, took the top individual honour at the event - known colloquially as the "Worlds" and regarded as the most prestigious debating tournament in the world.
He is the third Singaporean to receive the award, cementing Singapore's status as a debate powerhouse. Since 1981, when the competition began, all Asian winners have been Singaporean.
Country-wise, Singapore is ranked fourth in terms of Best Speaker winners, behind Australia, Canada and England.
That is very good for a country of five million, the competition's unofficial historian, Mr Colm Flynn, noted.
The first Singaporean Best Speaker winner was Ms Chitra Jenardhanan in 1995. Representing Nanyang Technological University, she was also the first woman and the first Asian to take the trophy.
In 2003, Dr Tan Wu Meng, representing Cambridge University, won it.
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