Shining in and beyond the arena

For Chemistry graduate Siying from the NUS Faculty of Science, the key to a good shot has always been about balance. Whether it is muscle coordination, mental concentration or keeping her emotions in check, steadying herself is crucial to hitting the target.

This balance helped her at the prestigious World University Games (WUG) in 2019, one of the six times she represented NUS. She describes the experience as her most memorable, where she learnt to look beyond the score and see each competition as a learning experience instead.

Siying at the prestigious 2019 Summer Universiade – also known as the World University Games – in Napoli, Italy. The Summer Universiade is the world’s largest multi-sports event for student athletes.

“The WUG helped me change my mindset towards training because I got injured and could not hold my gun properly to shoot. But I realised that pulling through to the finish is an achievement in itself,” shared Siying.

Learning to strike a fine balance between sports and studies has also paid off for her. A recipient of both the NUS Merit Scholarship and the Alice & Peter Tan Scholarship, Siying has always been a model student. She was part of the NUS University Scholars Programme too.

“After knowing what I want out of my university life, it’s much easier to optimise the time I spend on training and academics,” said the fresh graduate who minored in Computer Science and joined e-commerce platform Shopee as a systems quality engineer this year.

“It’s not juggling or balancing, if it’s optimising”, she added, sharing a motto she has lived by through her schooling years.

To Siying, balance – “in both the physical and intangible sense” – is critical to hitting a target that is 0.5mm wide, 10 metres away.

Besides hard work, student athletes also require many resources to keep them in good form. For Siying, the provision of training equipment, reimbursement for venue rental and coach fees, as well as invaluable support of the NUS Shooting team, collectively enabled her to get back on her feet quickly whenever she faced setbacks.

Original article: https://news.nus.edu.sg/shining-in-and-beyond-the-arena/