GETTING potential sponsors may be easier now for world bowling champion Jasmine Yeong-Nathan.

Fellow sportsmen and members of the media know her without any need for introduction.

But when it comes to being recognised by the public, Yeong-Nathan claims that so far, no one has stopped her on the streets to greet her or ask her for autographs since her AMF World Cup win .

Which is a surprise considering how the friendly 20-year-old bowled her way into the hearts of Singaporeans when she became the first local kegler to win the coveted cup.

Especially when compared to the attention national table tennis players Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei, received after winning the Olympic silver medal.

The trio enjoyed much fanfare with hundreds turning up at publicity events just to catch a glimpse of them.

Someone even started an online fan club for Feng.

Not that Yeong-Nathan is clamouring for that kind of attention.

When The New Paper asked the Singapore Polytechnic student how she would feel if someone did the same for her, she looked alarmed.

'Oh my God, I'm not a celebrity so I don't expect stuff like that to happen to me. I'll just faint,' she said.

Her good friend Remy Ong, also a renowned national bowler, offered to start an online fan club for her in jest.

Her reply to him?

'I'll strangle you if you did that.'

Not exactly a response one would expect from someone who has become a media darling overnight.

Aside from appearing in the local papers, Yeong-Nathan has also appeared in a local teenage magazine.

Before her interview with The New Paper, she was doing a photoshoot with yet another magazine.

So, shouldn't she be used to all the attention by now?

'Life has gone back to before. I just do interviews and after that everything is back to normal, you know?' explained the soft-spoken Yeong-Nathan.

And just like before, guys are still not approaching her.

'I've never been approached by guys. And that hasn't changed even after I won the title,' she added.

But to a certain extent, her life is not like before.

Endorsement deals

Even though endorsement deals aren't piling on her lap, she admitted that being recognisable would help her canvass for more sponsorships in the future.

'Since nothing has been confirmed yet, all I can say is that getting sponsorships won't be as difficult as before, when people didn't know who Jasmine Yeong-Nathan was,' she said.

Currently, Yeong-Nathan, along with the Singapore Bowling Federation, is being sponsored by Canon. Her bowling equipment is provided for by Hook Bowling Pro Shop.

Yeong-Nathan and her family members were even given VIP treatment at the Singapore Turf Club recently.

They were invited to watch one of this year's first races up close.

'It was my first time watching horse racing. I didn't know it could be so exciting,' exclaimed Yeong-Nathan.

She may enjoy a few perks now and then like the Turf Club visit but the third year media communications student with Singapore Polytechnic, who is currently doing a three-month attachment with a local marketing agency, insisted that she receives no preferential treatment at work.

'It's my first job and although I am attached to the sports side and they all know who I am, I still have to prove myself.'

This includes starting from the bottom like anyone else and doing things like media clippings and learning how to operate a fax machine.

Far from being an advantage at the workplace, winning a so-called big tournament brings its own pressure because of the high expectations that come with it.

For instance, asking for colleagues' help with the fax machine may get replies like: 'Aiyoh you world champion don't know how to use fax machine?'

Even so, Yeong-Nathan is happy to take it in her stride because in a way, it proves her point that her life is just like it was before.

'I may be a world champ now but I still have to go to work and when I get home, I still have to wash the dishes for my brother,' said Yeong-Nathan.

Now here's a world champion who isn't a diva, washes dishes and meets new challenges head-on with wide-eyed enthusiasm. And did we mention she's single and available?

Here's one tip. Your chances will improve if you resemble either of her two favourite sportsmen - Michael Phelps and Fernando Torres.