Athletes power through adversity to ace their exams

National softballer Aloysius Ong (left), who deferred his studies for the SEA Games, and national sailor Lee Wonn Kye are among the athletes who did well in the A-level exams.
National softballer Aloysius Ong ( left), who deferred his studies for the SEA Games, and national sailor Lee Wonn Kye (right) are among the athletes who did well in the A-level exams. PHOTOS: WORLD BASEBALL SOFTBALL CONFEDERATION, YONG LI XUAN

There were times when national softballer Aloysius Ong questioned his decision to defer his studies for a year to focus on softball in 2019.

Watching his peers graduate ahead of him while he spent his time preparing for the SEA Games that year was tough. It did not help that some also doubted his decision to take a year off for sport.

But the pitcher's sacrifice bore fruit as he helped the national team secure a historic SEA Games gold medal.

After the stellar year in sport, Mr Ong channelled his focus to his studies. Looking back, the Hwa Chong Institution student, who received his A-level results yesterday, scoring five As and a C, has no regrets.

Aloysius, 19, who hopes to read medicine in university, said: "The perception that people have towards sport is like, 'Why did you do it? Sport isn't going to take you anywhere.'

"At the back of people's heads, there will be some questions, like if softball is really worth a year of your life, but I'm glad I stuck to my decision and it paid off."

National para-swimmer Wong Zhi Wei is another athlete who overcame a difficult time to do well at the A levels.

In October 2019, he received news that he had been diagnosed with stage five chronic kidney disease.

Before that, Zhi Wei, who has a visual impairment, had also been struggling with his performance in the pool, and the diagnosis was a double whammy.

The 18-year-old said: "It was devastating because I couldn't pursue swimming. I felt it was a real tragedy because I couldn't do the things my friends could do, and I felt somewhat nihilistic, like: 'What's the point of taking A levels if my life is going to be like this?'"

But that changed when he underwent a kidney transplant in January last year. He flew to China for the procedure, and even though it kept him out of school for three months, it was a turning point.

As he could not return to the pool immediately after the transplant, he decided to treat his A levels like a competition.

During his time away from school, the Eunoia Junior College student asked his teachers to send him worksheets and tried to catch up in areas of his studies in which he had fallen behind.

This time, instead of a medal at the end of the competition, it was a result sheet with five As and a B.

Zhi Wei, who is looking at pursuing a politics-or economics-related degree, said: "For me, there's a sense of relief and accomplishment because I was able to bounce back from the hardships I had to deal with in the previous two years."

National sailor Lee Wonn Kye and national artistic swimmer Vivien Tai, both Raffles Institution students, are also among those who performed well at the A levels.

Wonn Kye, 18, scored six As while Vivien, 19, scored five As and a B.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 20, 2021, with the headline Athletes power through adversity to ace their exams. Subscribe