Still only 19, Joseph Schooling is starting to realise his potential and he served notice of his intention to dominate the pool by winning three Asian Games medals.

For being Singapore's most bemedalled individual athlete in Incheon and ending the country's 32-year wait for an Asiad swimming gold, the swimmer has been named The Straits Times' Star of the Month for September.

At a lunch held at the Patara Fine Thai restaurant in Tanglin Mall, Schooling's parents Colin and May, accepted the award on behalf of their son, who is currently studying in the University of Texas at Austin.

Joseph said: "This award means a lot to me as it is a recognition of my accomplishments. It feels good and it is definitely an extra boost to my confidence and it motivates me to work even harder.

"Now that I have tasted winning, I want more. I am hungrier for more."

At the Asian Games, Joseph won a bronze in the 200m butterfly and a silver in the 50m butterfly final.

And he capped his time in Incheon by winning the 100m butterfly final with a new Games record time of 51.76sec.

Joseph credits his positive frame of mind for his three Asiad medals, saying: "I wanted to win really, really badly. When I enter the pool, I know I can't turn back. I got to go for it."