He trained just once last year because of his national service commitments, and returned to regular training at the start of this year with the blessing of his unit.

With just eight months of intensive training, swimmer Teong Tzen Wei won the 50m freestyle, where the slightest mistake could mean finishing last, at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

What made it even more amazing was that the 20-year-old became South-east Asia's fastest man in the pool on his Games debut.

He has now set his sights on Olympic champion Joseph Schooling's national record of 22.47 seconds in this event, as well as a medal at the Asian Games in Indonesia next August.