1. Tell us more about yourself and your volleyball life.

I first came in contact with volleyball in Elias Park Primary School at age 9. I continued playing when I was in Dunman Secondary School and Nanyang Junior College (NYJC). I subsequently went on to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to pursue a degree in Sport Science and Management, and played for NTU in Inter-Varsity games. I played setter all these while but like most setters, I always crave to be a spiker.

In 2017, I decided to switch to Beach Volleyball at the invitation of the then National Beach Volleyball head coach. It was an easy transition but I really enjoyed playing on the beach. The best part about transitioning to beach volleyball is that there is no fixed role like indoor volleyball as we need to be able to dig, set and spike, and in a way, I finally fulfil my dream of playing a spiker!

In 2018, my partner (Ong Wei Yu) and I qualified for the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. While we did not have a medal to shout about, it was a great honour representing Singapore at the Games and a fantastic experience for both of us.

The women’s beach volleyball team qualified for the 30th SEA Games that will take place in the Philippines later part of this year and I am extremely excited and looking forward to my 2nd major games for Singapore! As you can imagine, we are training very hard in preparation for the SEA Games, and we are chalking up an average of 7 sessions a week between the beach and the gym.

Volleyball is a huge part of my life since young. Other than schoolwork, most of my time is around volleyball. I am sure I will continue to be involved in volleyball in some shape or form even if I stop representing the nation as I really can’t imagine not having volleyball in my life.

2. What are you doing to contribute to volleyball in Singapore?

As a national beach volleyball player, my current contribution is really to try to maximise my potential and play my best when representing Singapore.

When time permits, I will try to go back to my alma mater (MYJC) to help with the training for the existing students and also sharing competitive experiences with them (although I haven’t had a chance to do so this year!).

3. What will you do to encourage more volleyballers to contribute in their own ways, to give back to the sport?

It will be great if the younger players have access to existing high performance athletes who can give advice, share experiences and be a role model. I belive that good mentoring and inspirational stories do make a significant impact on the younger players. We, as high performance athletes, should also ensure we uphold the values of the Association – Integrity, Perseverance and Teamwork, and a good role model for the younger players.

I will like to see people within the fraternity to continuously improve themselves, like taking up coaching and/or match official courses to stay relevant and connected to the game. I will also like to see more people, especially ex-players, and coaches to give back to the sport in their own little ways. No matter how small, it all adds up and make a difference to Singapore Volleyball.

I also hope to see volleyball introduced to a larger pool of children and hopefully over time, we can build a larger pool of players and funnel these players into the selection pool for Singapore High Performance athletes may it be for Volleyball or Beach Volleyball.