Feng wants to 'give back'

Feng Tianwei has joined Sport Singapore as an employee, the national sports agency revealed on Monday.

It announced that the Republic's most bemedalled Olympian and top table tennis player will join its sport development group, working on the development of sport pathways for children and youths, particularly in table tennis.

The 36-year-old told The Straits Times that she approached SportSG about this opportunity with her playing career nearing its end, adding that she "would like to give back to Singapore in a different way".

She is also set to embark on a two-year master's in sport industry management concurrently, at the Physical Education Teaching and Research Department of Peking University, although her tuition fees are not covered by SportSG.

Feng will work part-time, committing approximately eight to 10 hours a week. Her studies will equip her for a wider scope of career opportunities at SportSG in future.

She shared that where possible, she will return to Singapore during term breaks "to enable better discussion and collaboration with my co-workers".

Feng, who will leave for Beijing at the end of September, added: "I have sought guidance from other Team Singapore athletes who are working and studying at the same time, hence I am confident of juggling both work and studies.

"I love sport and I do want to understand and learn more about the sport ecosystem beyond being an athlete. I believe that pursuing further studies, on top of my experience as an athlete, will give me a better understanding of the region's sport industry, and there will be more I can offer and contribute to the local sporting fraternity thereafter."

While this move rules her out of the Sept 30-Oct 9 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu, China, she added that she will continue to train at a lower intensity to maintain her fitness, and "if I am given the opportunity, I will continue to represent Singapore".

She told ST: "For now, my focus will be on my work and studies, but I won't rule out the possibility of participating in upcoming Games."

At the Commonwealth Games in August, ST reported that Feng could further her studies abroad as she was mulling retirement.

Despite her career being on the wane, she won golds in the women's team, singles and doubles events in Birmingham as well as the hearts of Singaporeans with her tearful rendition of Majulah Singapura atop the podium after a memorable comeback from 3-0 down in the singles final against compatriot Zeng Jian.

Besides her Commonwealth Games collection of nine golds, three silvers and one bronze, the Harbin-born Feng, who became a Singapore citizen in 2008, also owns three Olympic medals - a team silver from Beijing 2008 and a singles and team bronze from London 2012.

Sandwiched in between is the high point of her career - Singapore's 3-1 victory over mighty China in the 2010 World Team Table Tennis Championships final, in which she contributed two points.

Under SportSG's Sport Excellence framework, there are various schemes to support athletes at different phases of their lives, which include preparing them for their post-sporting careers.

SportSG chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin said: "SportSG is always on the lookout for talent with strong sport-DNA to join us. Our Team Singapore current and retiring athletes are obviously part of that talent pool that we can tap on and we are pleased to welcome Tianwei to SportSG, to inspire and design the future of sport.

"Tianwei's interest to deepen her knowledge on Asia's burgeoning sport industry augurs well with SportSG's interests in catalysing and growing industry capability here as Singapore continues to position itself as a premier regional sport hub."