Theresa Goh, swimming in her ninth straight Asean Para Games, is penning a daily column for The Straits Times, sharing nuggets and personal anecdotes about some of her team-mates in the Singapore contingent.
Today, she writes about 29-year-old badminton player Tay Wei Ming.
Wei Ming is no stranger to the local disability sports scene, and I've known him for quite a long time.
Two things strike me about him - one, that he always seems to be training.
Another is that he's always cheerful, always raring to go.
It's quite funny if you think about it, but whenever I run into Wei Ming - usually at the Singapore Sports Hub - our short exchanges always involve him saying he's either going to, or coming from training.
It feels like all he does is train, and even though Wei Ming almost always wears a smile on his face, sometimes you can still see how worn out he is from how hard he pushes himself.
Maybe part of it has to do with how he wants to replicate what he accomplished in Kuala Lumpur the last time he competed in the Asean Para Games - by winning gold.
Or maybe part of it has to do with how he is trying to fulfil his dream of competing at the Paralympics, particularly at the Tokyo Games in 2020 when para-badminton makes its debut.
Whatever it is, Wei Ming is a very driven and hard-working athlete with a lot of self-discipline. He's someone I draw inspiration from because I want to take the kind of motivation that he has, and try to apply it to myself and my training too.
I would describe Wei Ming as someone who seems to have a fire inside that never goes out.
He's always ready to take on challenges, and that's a quality that I find really admirable.
His humility and positivity make him very good company, and his passion and willingness to work hard make him a great example for all athletes to emulate.
