In the path to possibly scoring more gold medals for Singapore in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Joseph Schooling won’t be alone in his quest.
Like Schooling, fellow swimmer Quah Zheng Wen was granted deferment from National Service until after 2020 — it’s the second deferment that he received from the Ministry of Defence since last year. This should let the 20-year-old continue his training uninterrupted for the next four years and give him a chance to win some glory himself after coming close to a medal in the Rio Olympics.
It was close but no cigar for Quah during his second Olympics outing at Rio 2016, where he finished as semi-finalist in the 100m and 200m butterfly as well as competed in the 100m backstroke event.
“For the first time ever, we now have two Olympics medal prospects – Zheng Wen and Joseph Schooling – who are exceptional sportsmen and meet all the existing criteria for deferment,” wrote Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on his Facebook page. Offering his well wishes to the swimmer, the minister hopes that their achievements will inspire more local athletes to excel.
In turn, Quah expressed his deep appreciation for the opportunity to train full-time and have “the peace of mind to continue to train hard.”
