Asian Games: Rowing against the painful tide

Singaporean has gone into debt in search of her dreams but remains determined to struggle

Joan Poh's bags are packed and she's ready to row - ready for Tokyo 2020 even, looking ahead to the Olympics as the ultimate goal.
Joan Poh's bags are packed and she's ready to row - ready for Tokyo 2020 even, looking ahead to the Olympics as the ultimate goal. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOAN POH
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Forget win, lose, placing. Forget wind, form, rival. Forget what you can't predict. In heat 1, lane 2, at JSC Lake in Palembang this morning, rower Joan Poh knows there is only one guarantee in her 2,000m single scull heat.

Pain.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 19, 2018, with the headline Asian Games: Rowing against the painful tide. Subscribe