By Terrence Voon

THE story of teenage athletes in Singapore is usually one of constant struggle between sport and studies, and how one always gets in the way of the other.

Cheong Hui Min, however, has a different tale to tell.

The 16-year-old shuttler put her studies at the Singapore Sports School on hold last year, just so she could spend eight months in China training full-time.

Then 15, the spunky teenager travelled alone to Fuzhou, where she trained day and night with members of the provincial team. She lived and breathed badminton; an experience which she said has made her a better player, both physically and mentally.

'I was very homesick, but I told myself I had to do it if I wanted to break into the national team,' she said. Her immediate goal, she added, was to make the cut for next year's Youth Olympics.

Hui Min is not the only one who is re-writing the script.

An increasing number of young Singapore athletes are putting their studies on hold, in favour of full-time sport.

What was once an unthinkable move in the minds of pragmatic Singaporeans is becoming more widely accepted.

Said SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping: 'Over the last 10 years, I have seen a trend in athletes being prepared to put their studies on hold.

'This is a good sign, because they are focused on what they want and they are confident that sport will make them a better person.'

Last year, 10 Singaporean sailors took a year off from their studies to prepare for the Beijing Olympics.

This year, a growing number of young athletes from other sports have also decided to chase medals instead of paper qualifications.

These include Catherine Chew (equestrian), Wee Ling En (wushu), Rezza Gaznavi (cricket), Travis Woodford (triathlon) as well as Melvynna Tambunan (wrestling).

Despite the diverse nature of their sporting pursuits, they all cited the same reason for taking the plunge.

Said Ling En, 19: 'You're young only once. In Singapore, you can do your studies any time, but to do well in sport, there's only a limited window.'

The taijiquan pugilist recently graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in banking and finance. In order to excel at the upcoming World Championships in Canada, she is taking a 11/2-year break before she enrols for university.

'My parents were shocked when I told them I was stopping school for wushu,' she recounted. 'But in the end, they realised that I really wanted it, and that wushu was very important to me.'

In Rezza's case, he had parents who backed his sporting dream from the get-go.

The 16-year-old scored seven As for his O levels last year, and earned a place at Raffles Junior College. But he decided to delay his studies by a year, in order to train full-time here and overseas.

'Rather than juggling two things and achieving neither, we thought it was best that he concentrated on one,' said his father Mahmood Gaznavi, the deputy president of the Singapore Cricket Association.

While most of these athletes have taken temporary time off, some, like cyclist Low Ji Wen, have no immediate plans to return to school.

The 20-year-old quit Anglo-Chinese Junior College three years ago before his A levels, in order to pursue professional cycling.

He is now a national rider, and has represented the country at the South-east Asian Games as well as in overseas races.

'I have no regrets,' he said. 'I had a dream and the opportunity to go overseas, so I did it.'

The good news is, the road to sporting excellence is no longer as financially arduous as it used to be.

The Singapore Sports Council (SSC), for instance, provides national athletes with training grants and sports science support through schemes like its Sports Excellence Talent Elite Athlete Management programme.

The SSC also provides education counselling and career development planning for athletes.

Mr Mohamed Rizal, a former national squash champion who once took a year off his studies to train full-time, envies the new generation of sports stars.

'If I had the support and the incentives that athletes have today, I might not have returned to my polytechnic studies,' said the 31-year-old, who is now a flight attendant.

'But my one-year break gave me an idea of what it was like to train full-time, and I realised it was not easy.'

When contacted, most sports officials welcomed the idea of athletes putting their studies on the backburner.

But the SSC argues that striking a balance between the two might be a better move.

Said the SSC's chief of Sports Industry Development Wayde Clews: 'We encourage our athletes to pursue both their sport and education aspirations concurrently and stress the importance of maintaining a balance between the two.'

Dr Ben Tan, a former national sailor and former Asian Games gold medallist, is a shining example of an athlete who successfully juggled both sport and studies.

'My advice to athletes is to try and do both at the same time,' said Dr Tan, now the consultant sports physician and head of the Changi Sports Medicine Centre.

'If that's not possible, then I would put studies on hold, because sport can teach life skills that you cannot acquire in the classroom.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.