SINGAPORE – Gymnast Samuel Loh is now reaping the rewards after conquering his fears by joining the National Training Centre (NTC) in 2023.

On April 26, the Bukit Merah Secondary School student brought a new confidence to the Bishan Sports Hall as he won the floor exercise and vault events on the final day of the National School Games B Division boys’ artistic gymnastics competition.

The haul brought his gold medal tally to five out of a possible six after he finished first in the parallel bar, horizontal bar and rings events a day earlier.

In both events on April 26, Samuel finished ahead of Assumption English School’s Elisha Tan, while Singapore Sports School’s Jayden Han was third in the vault and Terence Tan of St Joseph’s Institution claimed the floor bronze.

It was in June when Samuel decided to enrol in the training centre, after pushing back the move for a few years.

Since then, his outlook on the sport changed as he has set his sights on greater goals, including representing Singapore on the international stage.

“I wasn’t prepared for the intense training so, at first, I was scared to join. But I ultimately decided to join to improve my skills faster,” explained the 15-year-old.

“I’m quite glad that I was able to do very well this year, my hard work has paid off and the results are shown in this competition. The support from my coaches and teammates really pushed me to improve my skills and be able to win.”

Gymnastics, it seems, runs in the family. Samuel, who started when he was five, and four other siblings all partake in the sport.

But, initially, he was not ready for the more stringent regimen at the NTC, where he trains six times a week, instead of four previously.

Eventually, he took it all in his stride as he found thrills in learning new skills, although the intensity can still take a toll at times.

He said: “Some days, training sessions are very tough. My body will get quite sore. There were also times when everything I did was just not right.

“I get quite demoralised and keep asking myself, ‘why I’m still training’ but, after a while, I continue persevering throughout my journey.”

Another gymnast who did well at the competition was CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School student Hannah Lim, who won the B Division girls’ floor exercise final on April 26, ahead of Yishun Secondary School’s Alexis Tan and teammate Alexis Chan, to add to her all-around title from a day earlier.

Hannah, who is also part of the national youth set-up and won the C Division novice all-around title in 2023, was thankful her new mindset and hard work did the trick.

She said: “I really put in a lot of effort and keep striving to improve. This year, I wanted to have more fun at the NSG, compared to last year when I felt more stress trying to be placed higher.”

The wins have spurred her to take the sport more seriously.

She said: “Being in the NTC motivates me to keep working harder. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have thought that I could come this far.”