Adele Tan Qian Xiu and Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman are both Year 2 and Year 3 athletes from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Faculty of Science respectively made their debut appearances at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Adele is a Singapore National Shooter who represented Singapore in the 10-metres air rifle women’s event and Kiria is a National Fencer and the second Singaporean fencer to qualify for the Olympics.
OSA caught up with both students while they serve their 2-week Stay Home Notice in August 2021.
Biggest sacrifice being time
Adele confesses that she struggles with balancing academics and sports at a very elite level. She spends an inordinate amount of time honing her skills to that of top-notch. She reveals: "I train about six times a week, twice a day, so maybe from 9am to 12pm, and the second session from 1pm to 6pm.
Kiria who also trains six times a week says: "Each day I train about two or three times a day, so it can be a gym session in the morning and fencing session in the evening. It’s very difficult for me to put aside some extra time to meet my friends outside of school and outside of training."
The path to greatness
When asked whether it was true that 'Elite athletes go through brutal mental toil in pursuit of greatness', both athletes felt heard as if it was something they related to.
Adele maintains: "I agree with this sentence a lot and I feel that most of the time our struggles, nobody sees it. And shooting is a very mental sport. So we go through a lot of mental turmoil that nobody sees, and the path to greatness is actually very lonely. But I'm really thankful to have a lot of people around me who show me support."
Kiria affirms: "I also agree with the statement, I think a lot of times you don't see results, so you have to keep pushing through the hard times before you actually manage to win a big competition or achieve a good achievement. So it can be very long and it can be very lonely at times, because not a lot of people will understand your struggles, and they may not support you."
Juggling training and school
Adele alleges: "Time management is very important so right after training I will straightaway go for my lectures and I always have my journal and my laptop with me so I can be on the go when the lecture starts."
Highlights in Tokyo Olympics: Athletes' Village and Dining Hall
Adele expresses: "In Tokyo, we weren't allowed to leave the Athletes' Village because the movement restrictions were very strict. Inside the Village, there is the Village Plaza where there are shops for us to buy souvenirs, a games area for us to play darts and VR (Virtual Reality) games."
Kiria discloses: “I spent a lot of time at the dining hall because they had really good food and it was the only place where we could see other athletes without their masks on. So you can actually recognise famous athletes.”
Plans after Tokyo Olympics
Lastly, both elite athletes plan to take a brief respite from the intense preparation for Tokyo Olympics, with Adele shifting her focus back to her academics before SEA Games resume next year and Kiria in preparation for the SEA Games and Asian Games.
We wish the athletes all the best in their journey.
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Producer: Office of Student Affairs
Writer: Shanice Poh, Year 2, Biz
