Ben Davis saga: Time to relook NS deferment criteria for team sports?

Athletes in individual sports are more likely to get the nod over those from team sports

Ben Davis trains with the national team on March 20, 2018. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Left: The national men's hockey team celebrating their win at the Hockey Series Open earlier this month. From top: Only swimmers Joseph Schooling and Quah Zheng Wen, and sailor Maximilian Soh were granted long-term deferments over the last 15 years.
The national men's hockey team celebrating their win at the Hockey Series Open earlier this month. PHOTOS: ST FILE
and
Updated
Published
July 22, 2018 at 5:00 AM
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

The Ben Davis episode has sparked a national conversation on long-term national service deferment for national athletes.

The 17-year-old footballer will have to return to Singapore in December to serve NS after his application for deferment was rejected by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), jeopardising his hopes of pursuing a professional career with English Premier League (EPL) club Fulham.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

ST One Digital

 $9.90/month

No contract

ST app access on 1 mobile device

Subscribe now

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 22, 2018, with the headline Ben Davis saga: Time to relook NS deferment criteria for team sports?. Subscribe

Available for
iPhones and iPads
Available in
Google Play

MCI (P) 076/10/2022, MCI (P) 077/10/2022. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2023 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.

Back to the top