Prince William declares his love for sports as he begins day 2 of Singapore tour with big win

Congratulations are in order for Prince William, whose team won a dragon boat race on the Marina Reservoir on the second day of his Singapore tour. 

The royal, who is in Singapore for the third annual Earthshot Prize ceremony, was praised as "a natural" by one of his teammates in the British Dragon Boat Racing Team after taking part in a race on a 22-seater boat with locals, British expats and representatives from across the Commonwealth. 

Another teammate said the prince "didn't miss a stroke" as he raced against a backdrop of Singapore's most famous landmarks. 

William, 41, who donned a black cap and white polo shirt for the event, replied by saying "I love sports" and that he was following "the key man in front of me", gesturing at the captain. 

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He added that he was "terrified" that if he got the rhythm of the paddle wrong he would "clash with the whole side". 

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Before leaving, the royal thanked the mixed gender crew, with representation from 14 nationalities including eight Commonwealth nations, and said he "really enjoyed" the race. 

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The team's captain, Chris Bosher, said after the race that the prince was "super engaged from the moment he walked down the pontoon to the moment he finished". 

Chris added that William was "excellent" and told the team 'seriously guys I want us to win this'.

"After he was asking about the race calendar and we mentioned we'd got a race coming up in two weeks and really he should come back and we'll give him a seat on the boat," said Chris. "He said it's quite a refreshing break to do from the normal routine so this was right up his street."

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Treasurer Kirthana Lakshmanan added that William joined in the three cheers "with gusto". 

Once back on land, the prince also met the Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, Canadian High Commissioner, New Zealand High Commissioner and Papua New Guinean High Commissioner.

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Prince William touched down in Singapore on Sunday evening at Changi Airport ahead of this year's Earthshot Prize ceremony, where he'll hand out five £1 million prizes to companies working on solutions to the climate crisis.

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Earthshot was founded by the Duke and The Royal Foundation in 2020, and aims to "discover and help scale innovative solutions that put the world firmly on a trajectory toward a stable climate by 2030 – a world in which communities, oceans and biodiversity can thrive in harmony," according to The Royal Foundation's official website. 

Upon his arrival in Singapore, Prince William said: "It's fantastic to be back in Singapore for this year's Earthshot Prize ceremony, after eleven years.

"Singapore's bold vision to be a leader for environmental innovation sets the standard for others to follow."

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He went on to add: "I am grateful to the Singaporean people for hosting us this week. Let us all take inspiration from the fantastic work being done here as we celebrate this year’s Earthshot Prize finalists."

"It's fantastic to be back in Singapore for this year's Earthshot Prize ceremony, after eleven years.

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"Singapore's bold vision to be a leader for environmental innovation sets the standard for others to follow."

He went on to say: "I am grateful to the Singaporean people for hosting us this week. Let us all take inspiration from the fantastic work being done here as we celebrate this year’s Earthshot Prize finalists."