Valentine’s Day with Team Singapore: Delvin Goh and Chelsea Sim
In a Valentine’s Day special, The Straits Times’ sports desk talks to four athlete couples about their relationship, lovey-dovey moments and shared love for sport. The pairs are Pang Sheng Jun (swimming) and Yeo Jia Min (badminton), Jowen Lim and Vera Tan (wushu), Eric Yee and Michelle Sng (athletics), Delvin Goh (basketball) and Chelsea Sim (taekwondo).
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National basketball player Delvin Goh, at 2m, towering over his 1.5m wife, former national taekwondo exponent Chelsea Sim.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF DELVIN GOH
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Q: How did you two meet?
Goh: We were preparing for the 2019 SEA Games when we were introduced to each other by Singapore Sport Institute’s athlete life mentor Auntie Dolly (Lo) at the athletes’ lounge.
Q: When did you know he/she was the one?
Goh: When we began to get to know each other better and were able to click right away. We were on the same wavelength, communication was smooth, future plans aligned and everything just flowed.
Q: What is the most romantic thing he/she has done for you?
Goh: It’s the little things such as paying attention to details that makes me feel loved.
Sim: There’s the grand gestures, such as the wedding proposal, to the little things that matter the most, such as making coffee in the mornings.
Q: What will you be doing this Valentine’s Day?
Goh: Working and maybe grabbing a simple lunch together.
Q: What are the advantages of being married to an athlete?
Sim: We understand each other’s commitments and responsibilities. We have common interests and conversations just flow better.
Goh: Sacrificing quality time together. The longest I’ve been overseas for my sport was for a month, it’s really tough.
Q: What sport do you watch together?
Sim: We watched each other’s sport when we were competing (she is now retired), but don’t follow other sports on TV. We prefer to watch reality dating shows on Netflix.
Q: What do you like about each other’s sport?
Goh: It’s really cool for one person to be standing out there, executing their routine. This requires a lot of focus!
Sim: I’m in an individual sport while Delvin is in a team sport, so it’s very interesting to witness the differences in training styles and methods, as well as the competition vibes too.
Q: Is your sport more difficult than his/hers?
Goh: Both are equally difficult. I can’t imagine having to perform in front of a panel of judges and crowd like she does.
Sim: I think it’s very difficult to analyse your opposing team’s strengths and weaknesses during the game, and having to react immediately and think of a game plan to adapt to what happens during the game.
Q: What is the one piece of advice you got from your spouse that was important for you in sport?
Goh: ‘What doesn’t challenge you doesn’t change you’ is a quote she lives by, which I also agree with.
Sim: Delvin always seems so calm and composed before his games, which was a learning point for me to enjoy the process and not worry too much about the outcome.
