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SINGAPORE : Cynics who think that Singapore sports is over-reliant on foreign talent, that local-born athletes lack the support and drive to succeed on the international stage, need look no further than Darren Choy and Isabelle Li.
The two Singapore Sports School students are only 14 years old, but they’re already dreaming of Olympic glory.
But first, there’s the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
Darren and Isabelle are expected to join over 3,500 youth athletes aged between 15 and 18 at the first YOG, which will be held here next year from August 14 to 26.
Table tennis player Isabelle has been part of the eight-strong - four boys and four girls - Youth Olympics team since last November, while sailor Darren Choy signed up last month after aceing Singapore Sailing’s 40-strong talent identification trial a month before.
With only 20 months left to the Games, there is little time to lose for the young hopefuls, and Isabelle admitted that it will be a challenge to match the skills and standard of her international peers.
Speaking to TODAY from Hebei, China, where the Youth Olympics team have been based since December 8, she said: “Getting selected for the Youth Olympics is the first step towards the Olympics for me and I’m really motivated.
“China, Japan and Korea are very tough countries to beat and I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
The teenager has certainly shown promise. At last October’s Commonwealth Youth Games, she defeated top seed Neha Aggarwal of India 4-0 in the women’s singles semi-final before posting a 4-2 victory over team-mate Zena Sim in the gold medal match.
She also notched wins at last year’s International Children’s Games, the Taiyuan Junior Open and South East Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships (girls doubles U-15, girls team).
The table tennis competition at the Youth Olympics will feature three events: Men’s and women’s singles and a mixed team competition.
For the past month, Isabelle and her team-mates have been putting in 18 training sessions a week at Hebei’s table tennis centre, and spent the Christmas and New Year holiday in China.
Isabelle’s mother, Sim Kwang Huang, may have missed her during the festive season, but the 47-year-old housewife is not one to question her daughter’s passion for the sport.
“During her PSLE year, she skipped her preliminary exams to compete in China,” said Sim.
“She told me that education can wait, but sports cannot, and that the competition was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Dedication, Devotion
Sailor Darren’s tale is similar to his schoolmate’s.
The 14-year-old struck gold at the International Optimist Class Team Race in Venice last May, and clinched a team silver at the IODA (International Optimist Dinghy Association) World Championship two months later.
With one year left in his Optimist career - sailors must be under-16 - Darren switched to the Byte CII dinghy class for a shot at Youth Olympic glory.
“I made the decision in December after qualifying for the team,” said the 2007 Sea Games silver medallist (Optimist team event).
“I feel that since this is a new class, the sooner I start the more experience I’ll get and I will have a head start over some of the other sailors.”
Four events will be contested at the Youth Olympiad, in the Byte CII (men and women) and Techno 293 (men and women) for windsurfing. Darren has been training with seven other Byte CII sailors - four boys and three girls - since December, and the 1.63-metre, 47kg sailor is trying to bulk up for the competition in 2010.
“My ideal weight is 55kg ... but if I’m a little lighter, I’ll have to compensate with better fitness. Besides going out to sea, we also do physical training, which consists of weights and aerobics sessions.”
Darren will face his first test in his new dinghy at the end of the month, when he competes in the Byte CII Asian Pacific Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
National coach Mark Plummer said that chalking up international experience will be crucial for the young sailors.
“Overseas exposure will be invaluable ... the Youth Olympics will be very competitive and they need to get used to racing at international level,” said the 29-year-old.
Other international races on the horizon include the Byte CII World Championship - the date has not been confirmed - and the 1st Asian Youth Games, which will be held here from June 29 to July 7.
Plummer is confident that the youngsters like Darren will be able to meet the mark in 2010, as he added: “They’re all very talented, and Darren is part of that talent pool ... he’s got a good track record from the Optimist.”
“The Byte is a big step for him because the boats are a lot more powerful, but he’s learning very quickly.”
Other rising stars to look out for:
Shahril Mohd Anuar, 15, athletics
Singapore Sports School sprinter is Singapore’s biggest hope for the century sprint at the Youth Olympics. The teenager collected 15 titles at local and international meets in 2007, including a 4x100m relay gold at the International Children’s Games in Iceland. Shahril had a phenomenal season last year, as the youngster won three gold (4x400m relay, 4x100m relay and 100m) at the International Children’s Games in San Francisco.
Amanda Lim, 15, swimming
Part of the gold medal winning quartet (4x200m women’s freestyle relay) at the 2007 Sea Games in Korat, Amanda also won seven gold medals at last year’s Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships. The Sports School student rounded up the year with a win in the Ladies Open (1km) category at last October’s Singapore Open Water Swim.
Clarence Tan, 14, gymnastics
The Singapore Sports School’s sole gymnast has been in fine form since 2007, where he won four gold medals in the National Inter-School Artistic Gymnastics Championships. At last year’s event, he was the overall champion after finishing tops in four events: Floor exercise, parallel bars, rings and vault. The teenager also took second spot (overall individual championship) at the 2008 Singapore Open Gymnastics Championships after winning four gold medals. At the Asean Schools Gymnastics Championships last August, Clarence clinched a silver and bronze in the floor exercise and rings, respectively. - TODAY/rs
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