19-year-old Singapore teenage paddler Zhou Jingyi has qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 by virtue of her Asian ranking.
She becomes the youngest ever Singapore-born female paddler to qualify for the Olympics, and the second Singapore-born female to qualify after Tan Paey Fern in 2004.
Jingyi will become the first Singapore-born paddler to play in the Women’s Singles event at the Olympics.
Tan played in the Women’s doubles event at Athens 2004.
She said, “Over the past year, we’ve travelled extensively around the world preparing for the Olympics.
“It was both physically and mentally exhausting, especially with an injury.
“However, I was able to improve significantly thanks to the many competition opportunities.
“Qualifying for the Olympics is incredibly meaningful to me, as it has been my goal since day one.”
She added that she intends to approach her matches with the same mentality as any other competition and “to perform to the best of my abilities.”
Jingyi will be the third Singaporean paddler who will be making their Olympics debut in 2024, joining Izaac Quek and Zeng Jian who had qualified earlier.
PHOTO: STTA