Dipna aims to finish high with best effort

Dipna aims to finish high with best effort

She became the first Singapore woman in 20 years to claim a track medal - a bronze - at the SEA Games last time out.

And now, with a newly minted national record and marriage under her belt, Singapore hurdler Dipna Lim-Prasad is hoping to earn another landmark medal on home ground next month.

Speaking on the sidelines of Nee Soon South Constituency's Active Day event yesterday, she said: "I hope to run a personal best and hope that it can get me high up on the podium."

The 23-year-old rewrote the national 400m hurdles record in March, clocking 59.86 seconds at the Sydney Track Classic.

The Active Day event saw Lim-Prasad and other Team Singapore athletes giving out carnations to the residents in conjunction with Mother's Day.

The residents also took part in activities such as mass workouts, rope skipping and mini-football try-outs. They took photos and penned well-wishes to the athletes.

Lim-Prasad took the occasion to pay tribute to her mother, saying: "In the past, my mum used to tell me to stop running as she didn't want me to be injured. But, after a while, she realised that I loved it and became very supportive. She would come down with my dad to support my local races and, at the last SEA Games, they even flew over to watch me. It was the first overseas race they saw me compete in, so I was really excited.

"When mum first heard of chia seeds apparently being the best superfood, she got really excited and tried to find ways to put chia seeds into everything I ate. I just want to say thank you, mum!"

Also present were table tennis star Feng Tianwei and her team-mates. The four-gold winners from 2013 remain confident ahead of the Games but insisted they were not taking victory for granted.

Feng said: "I hope to put up an exciting match for the home crowd. My biggest opponent will be myself."

Basketballer Wu Qing De noted: "Playing in front of the home crowd will be a double-edged sword as we will feel pressure... but I see it as an advantage as the crowd will cheer and motivate us. We need their support."

chongcjy@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on May 11, 2015.
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