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Wushu: Emily Sin out to give it her all at SEA Games

TODAY’s countdown for the SEA Games focuses on the young talents who have the potential to win medals both in Myanmar and at the 2015 Games in Singapore. We shine the spotlight today on wushu exponent Emily Sin, who is looking to add to the gold medal she picked up at the last Palembang Games.

TODAY’s countdown for the SEA Games focuses on the young talents who have the potential to win medals both in Myanmar and at the 2015 Games in Singapore. We shine the spotlight today on wushu exponent Emily Sin, who is looking to add to the gold medal she picked up at the last Palembang Games.

 

SINGAPORE — When it comes to her sport, Emily Sin does not let anything stand in the way of perfection.

Never mind that wushu has yet to make the Olympic programme, 19-year-old Sin proved her commitment two years ago by putting her A-level studies at Hwa Chong Junior College on hold to ensure a fruitful outing at the 2011 SEA Games.

It paid off handsomely as Sin returned from her maiden Games with a gold medal proudly hung around her neck, as part of the duilian winning trio together with Tao Yi Jun and Tay Yu Juan.

With the four-day wushu competition starting on Saturday, Singapore’s 10-exponent team, including Sin, who will be defending her duilian gold with new partners Fung Hui Xin and Zoe Mui, set off on Monday.

Apart from that team event, Sin will also be competing in three individual events — the nanquan, nangun and nandao — and will be out to give it her all.

“I am a person who wants to outdo myself,” Sin said. “I try hard, don’t give up and work hard to get to where I want to go. Winning (a) SEA Games gold is one of my destinations, maybe a world championship title should be the next target.”

With her A levels successfully completed, Sin is now a first-year chemical engineering undergraduate at the National University of Singapore. Looking back, Sin admits she was surprised her decision to take a year off school elicited nary a word of protest from her parents, when many others would be up in arms.

“Many people asked me why I would skip a year of school just because of wushu … was it worth it?” she recalls. “My answer to them is that I am someone who pushes herself to the limit and, in any case, how long can a competitive wushu career last? I don’t want to look back with regret, not knowing where and how far I would have gone. I want (to) look back with pride at what I have done for myself.”

Sin acknowledged that her parents have provided the backbone for her wushu career, a sport she describes as “cool”.

“They will do anything to help me ... financially or psychologically, and they always tell me (to) give my best and not give up halfway,” said Sin of her parents, whom she described as ordinary Singaporeans who would do extraordinary things to help her succeed in the sport. “I am very thankful to them,” she added.

In Myanmar, Sin knows she will need to be at her best to have a shot at winning, given the tough competition. “The Malaysians are the ones to beat,” she said. “I was at the recent world championship in Kuala Lumpur and they were really good. They set the standards there. I really don’t know what’s going to happen in Myanmar, but you can be sure I will be giving it my best shot.”

 

 

Name: Emily Sin Min Li.

Date of birth: Apr 27, 1994

Height/Weight: 1.53m, 54kg

Sea Games record: Gold medal Duilian (choreographed sparring) (2011 Indonesia)

Sea Games 2013 events: Duilian; Nanquan(fist); Nangun(staff); Nandao(sword).

 

Singapore wushu squad:

Men: Lee Tze Yuan, Yong Yi Xiang, Etienne Lee; Adalia Jesse Colin,

Women: Emily Sin, Fung Hui Xin, Zoe Mui, Valerie Wee, Tan Yan Ni, Vera Tan

 

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