Ahead of the 8th Asean Para Games this December, national paraathletes Alvina Neo and Yap Qian Yin share how they’ve overcome their disabilities to excel in sports – and life.
Ahead of the 8th Asean Para Games this December, national paraathletes Alvina Neo and Yap Qian Yin share how they’ve overcome their disabilities to excel in sports – and life.
“Never say never,” national para-athlete Alvina Neo quips when we ask about her transition from handcycling to shooting. The 26-year-old, who went into the sport in 2011, was injured while competing in the 48.6km handcycling competition during last year’s Asian Para Games in Incheon in Korea. Her left shoulder was partially dislocated and she had to pull out of the event. She has not been handcycling – or going for her dragonboat sessions (a form of complementary training) – since then. Looking for an alternative activity to fi ll her time, Alvina, who suffers from spina bifida and walks with the aid of braces and a crutch, tried air pistol shooting. “It’s quite challenging compared to handcycling. I used to think it was easy. Air pistol shooting is done in an air-conditioned range. I’m used to being sweaty and dirty in the hot sun. Until I tried it, I didn’t know I could sweat in an air-con room. It’s really harder than it looks. Plus, there’s a lot of mental strength and focus needed to make each shot as accurate as possible,” she says. It seems that Alvina has a natural fl air for the sport. She went to the shooting range for the first time in June. By the end of July, she was selected for the national team. Alvina hopes for a good competition in the Asean Para Games held here this month. “I will give it my all and will aim for a personal best score. A medal would be a wonderful bonus.” As for her future in handcycling, she says: “My shoulder is still not healed. It’s important to be 100 per cent ready before I go back to it. “I’ve learnt that challenges and failures are there for a reason. Learn from them. Better yourself. Then, fail at a higher level – and learn from it again.”
“In sport and in life, keep improving yourself. Don’t get comfortable.”
Alvina Neo, National Shooter
For 25-year-old Yap Qian Yin, who has battled leukaemia twice in her life, there are many signifi cant moments to remember. Among the good times and the bad, one date will forever be etched in her memory: “April 11, 2011 was the day I went sailing for the very fi rst time,” she reveals. The accounts assistant was introduced to the sport by fellow national sailor Jovin Tan at a point when she was “very lost”. “Jovin asked if I was keen to try sailing. I wasn’t, but I thought I’d try just once to shut him up,” she laughs. “Things just continued from there. I went sailing every weekend. Eventually, I got better at it and was selected to represent Singapore.” In fact, Qian Yin became so good at it that she clinched Singapore’s first-ever Asian Para Games gold last year. Having first battled leukaemia at the age of four, Qian Yin was struck by the disease again at 17. Though she survived the second episode, intensive therapy led to side effects that caused her to be paralysed from the waist down. The days that followed were dark. “I felt useless and like a burden to my family”, shares Qian Yin. Her mother was also deeply saddened and affected. Sailing changed all that. “When I am sailing or racing, and especially when I get a medal, I feel great because I know that although I’m in a wheelchair, I am capable of achieving far more than I ever expected,” says Qian Yin. I can see that my mum is also happy when I sail and she’s proud of me.” To motivate herself when the going gets tough, Qian Yin reminds herself to enjoy the process and the sport. “Don’t be distracted from your goal. Don’t ever forget why you started in your sport.”
“When you’re down and out, take it one day at a time. Nobody is going to remember your failures in the long run. L earn from your experience, and move on with life.”
Yap Qian Yin, National Sailor
