WHEN Singapore's top paddler Li Jiawei told fiance Ronald Susilo that she had been named Young Woman Achiever, his first question was: 'Why wasn't I picked too?'

Obviously, Singapore's top badminton player Ronald could not have been nominated for the women-only honour given out by Her World magazine. The problem was, the China-born paddler was able to explain it to her Indonesia-born partner only in broken English.

Since love blossomed between the sporting couple in 2002, their exchanges have been conducted in a smattering of bad English and halting Mandarin. They got engaged last September.

She fought her way to the semi-finals at the Athens Olympics last year, though the bronze eluded her after losing to South Korean Kim Kyung Ah.

'Whenever I think about it, it still hurts,' the world's sixth-ranked player said in Mandarin. 'The Olympics, to me, was one of my best performances in a major meet. But it also brought me the greatest regret.'

But regrets seemed far from her mind at the awards event last night, as she received her award from Singapore Press Holdings chief executive officer Alan Chan.

In a short speech in Mandarin, she thanked Singapore for all the opportunities it has given her and promised to work harder to improve her game.

The inspiration she gave to other young athletes persuaded the judges to single her out for the award. Past winners have included singers Kit Chan, Stefanie Sun and the paddler's role model, table tennis' retired golden girl Jing Junhong.

The accolade, which has been handed out since 1999, recognises women aged 35 or below who have done good work and demonstrate potential for even greater success.

The three-time Sportswoman of the Year said that this win is especially sweet. 'Past prizes were all for sports. This recognises the work of a young Singaporean,' she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Mar 30, 2005.

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