Hurdler Ang eyes full-time training stint

SINGAPORE — As a young boy, Ang Chen Xiang and his younger brother would spend their weekends “hurdling” over tables in the driveway of their house under the watchful eye of their father, an ex-national hurdler.

Ang remembers those training sessions fondly, and while he went on to compete in cross country, long jump, high jump, and the 100m and 200m, he found himself returning to his first love — the 110m hurdles — in secondary school.

His love for hurdling reaped rewards at the Singapore Open Track and Field Championships last April, when he clocked a new national record time of 14.44sec in the men’s 110m hurdles. The feat was made all the more special as it was also the first record set at the new National Stadium.

While his achievement was overshadowed hours later by sprint queen Shanti Pereira, who clocked a new women’s 100m record, Ang followed up with yet another record-breaking feat in the stadium two months later.

Competing in the men’s 110m hurdles heats at the SEA Games, he bettered his national mark with a time of 14.38, just missing out on the final after finishing ninth.

Now Ang is about to take his love for the sport further: The 22-year-old is planning to put his medical studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on hold to pursue his dream of training full-time for a year.

“The plan is to take a gap year, with the first six months geared towards the 2017 SEA Games, and the next six months for the Commonwealth Games in April 2018,” he told TODAY.

“Breaking the national record two times in three months is something very special to me. There is a special significance for me, because before Hakeem (former national hurdler Abdul Hakeem Abdul Halim) broke it, it stood for 42 years and was the oldest national record in Singapore.

“That spurred me on to see how far I can go, and I want to see how far my potential can take me. My aim is to improve my personal best, I want to qualify for the SEA Games next year, and I’ll see how far full-time training can take me.”

Ang is currently in discussion with NUS and Singapore Athletics on his full-time training plans, and he is exploring the possibility of training overseas in Japan, Thailand, or Taiwan.

Training is a family affair for Ang, a fourth-year medical student who is currently on a clinical posting with a hospital, as he trains at Bishan Stadium six to seven days a week with his dad and coach Ang Kwee Tiang, and younger brother Ding Hui.

Ang will be following in the footsteps of other national athletes like the men’s 4x100m relay team whose members took a year off from school and work in 2012 to train for the SEA Games, and national steeplechase athlete Muhammad Shah Feroz who quit his job as a teacher in July to train full-time for a year for the 2017 SEA Games.

Ang will need to overcome a few hurdles in his quest to compete at the 2017 SEA Games and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games: The qualifying marks for the two events are 14.12 and 13.74, respectively.

But he is determined to succeed. “I’m really excited about this training stint as it gives me a lot more time to focus on training and recovery. There will be a new environment, atmosphere, training group and culture which will be beneficial to me.

“A lot of times, winning and losing are separated by just thousandths of a second, and the mental aspect is what differentiates performances. The training group and atmosphere will definitely sharpen my physical and mental skills.”

Yet his focus is not on the SEA Games podium. As Ang said: “It’s really more about the journey, and the discovery of possibilities and potential. I want to enjoy every step of the way and just enjoy what I’m doing.”