Poised for bigger things

SINGAPORE — The boyish bob from four years ago, when paddler Isabelle Li won silver at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG), is no more. In place of the wide-eyed rookie that won many a Singapore fan’s heart is now a 20-year-old young lady, complete with brown tinted hair tied in a ponytail.

However, the memories from the YOG have lingered. Only last month, the national paddler took the trip down memory lane with YOG rival and close friend Ng Ka Yee of Hong Kong, as the duo revisited the Singapore Indoor Stadium — the venue for the YOG table tennis competition — when Ng was on holiday here.

“We didn’t get to go in, but we walked around the Sports Hub and visited the Sports Museum. The indoor stadium is a very special place for us because we were fighting so hard at the YOG then,” said Li in an interview with TODAY.

“The YOG really impacted my life and set it on a new trajectory. I remember sitting there and looking at the crowd and feeling so much pride, and at that moment, I really felt connected to everyone, to my fellow Singaporeans.”

Li is set to relive some of her young career’s proudest moments soon, with the 10,000-seater arena slated to host the SEA Games’ table tennis competition from June 1 to 8.

The player, with her distinctive “chopper” style, is pencilled in for the women’s team and women’s singles events, with Team Singapore expected to put in a strong showing for all seven table tennis gold medals.

A sizzling performance at the recent ITTF World Team Cup in Dubai saw Li, ranked 130th in the world, defeat Hong Kong’s top seed Lee Ho Ching (No 20) in the deciding tie of the quarter-final to claim the biggest scalp of her career — a victory that secured Singapore’s semi-final spot in the tournament.

More importantly, it was a breakthrough the 20-year-old — who started training full-time in June 2013 — needed after a demoralising turn at the World Table Tennis Team Championships in May last year. Making her debut at the Tokyo tournament alongside senior players Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu, Li won only one of seven matches as the team’s third player.

Said Li: “I felt guilty not being able to play a part for the team, when Tianwei was playing nine or 10 matches, and seeing how tired my team-mates were.

“I really wished I could have played a part in it. But on hindsight, I realised it was one of the greatest things to happen. Up to then, I had never experienced failure like that as my studies and sports had been smooth sailing.

“I didn’t have the skills and abilities to be on the world stage then. It helped free me from burden and expectation and I’m now bolder in trying new things and playing games without fear of failure.”

Her victory over Lee in Dubai has certainly given Li a boost ahead of the SEA Games, which are less than six months away.

“It was definitely a psychological breakthrough and gives me a lot of confidence against the top players. There is a still a huge gap between me and the top paddlers and there are a lot of aspects of my game to improve,” she said.

“What I’m really aiming for at the SEA Games is for my country’s flag to fly the highest. I don’t know when it will come back again and how long I’ll be in this (sport), so I cannot take this opportunity for granted.”

Li is currently competing in the local National Grand Finale, which ends tomorrow, before heading to the ITTF World Tour in Hungary, Qatar and Kuwait, the World Championships in Suzhou (April 26 to May 3) and the SEA Games at home.