By Elysa Chen

SHE is a multiple gold medal-winning sportswoman who can't walk.

Madam Lim Poh Eng has won gold and silver medals in wheelchair versions of tennis and track and field.

Now she's setting her sights on the seemingly impossible - ballroom dancing.

Madam Lim, a polio-sufferer who lost the use of her legs when she was seven months old, retired from sports competitions four years ago.

But she's not about to stop her active lifestyle. She has been taking professional dance lessons for the past five years. She now plans to compete with able-bodied dancers in international ballroom dancing competitions.

Madam Lim, who works for the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD), said: 'Taking part in competitions against able-bodied dancers will let me see where I am compared to them.'

She has twisted her arm several times while dancing, but that has not stopped her from moving quickly on her wheelchair.

She said: 'When we go fast and try to turn quickly, it is easy to get injured. But I have to go fast, so that there's impact and punch to my dancing. I want to do my best.'

Mr William Tok, 45, Madam Lim's dance instructor and dance partner for the last five years, said: 'Just because my partner is wheelchair-bound does not mean that we will gain any sympathy points. We want to be judged on the same level as the able-bodied dancers, and be treated the same way.'

During one of their rehearsals that The New Paper witnessed, Madam Lim's passion for the dance was apparent. She cheekily stuck her tongue out at her partner as she moved towards him and leaned back while he supported her weight in a complex move called 'the drop'.

She said: 'Since I was young, I have loved dancing. I used to sit in front of the TV every time ballroom dancing was on.'

Madam Lim has managed to spread her love for wheelchair dancing to her husband of 20 years, Mr William Ng, 49, also a former national athlete.

Mr Ng lost the use of his legs when he was barely a year old, also from polio.

Mr Ng, who used to take part in wheelchair tennis and wheelchair racing, said: 'I never imagined myself on the dance floor. I preferred sports events.

'But when my wife asked me to join her in her dance classes, I realised that dance is also a sports event and needs skill and stamina.'

'She has the talent'

Beaming proudly while watching his wife performing the jive, Mr Ng said: 'I believe that my wife can make it, she has the talent.'

Madam Lim's supervisor, Ms Tay Hwee Lin, head of Therapy Services at SPD, described her as a dedicated and responsible worker.

She said that she was impressed with Madam Lim's passion for life .

'Poh Eng is really active. I'm able-bodied, but I may not even be as active as her,' she said.

Apart from winning competitions, Madam Lim wants to use dance to inspire others.

She said: 'My husband and I want to continue dancing to increase public awareness and to encourage other disabled people to come out and enjoy life.'

Mr Ng added: 'Don't be a prisoner of your disability.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Jan 24, 2009.