National Swimmer Joseph Schooling Enlists For NS On 3 Jan
2021 was an eventful year for national swimmer Joseph Schooling as he swam in the Tokyo Olympics. Now that 2022 is here, he now faces his next biggest challenge — National Service (NS).
On Sunday (2 Dec), Schooling shared videos of him getting his head shaved in preparation for the big day on Instagram.
The 26-year-old will enlist for NS on Monday (3 Jan) as his long-term NS deferment for Olympics preparation has ended.
Schooling gets his head shaved ahead of NS
The ritual of shaving their head for NS is something all Singaporean men will go through, even Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling.
On Sunday (2 Jan), Schooling shared the momentous occasion on his Instagram stories.
Sitting in a hair salon, he first shared a ‘before’ picture of his appearance.
In his next story, the swimmer zooms in on his half-shaven head, with only the right side of his hair left to go.
Schooling then shares one last video of himself getting the finishing touches of a clean shave.
He even tags the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in his story.
Long-term deferment ended in Aug 2021
The Olympic champion will be enlisting for NS today (3 Jan).
This comes after a long-term deferment for the 26-year-old ended on 31 Aug last year. His deferment began in 2014.
Later in September 2021, MINDEF announced that both Schooling and his fellow national swimmer, Quah Zheng Wen, will not have their deferments extended.
Swimmers Joseph Schooling & Quah Zheng Wen To Enlist For NS As Deferments End
25-year-old Quah had enlisted earlier in October 2021.
Both the national swimmers had great runs in the 2016 Rio Olympics, with Schooling emerging as a gold medallist in the 100m butterfly event.
However, in July 2021, both swimmers had lacklustre outings at the Tokyo Olympics, with Schooling coming in 8th place in the 100m butterfly event.
Nonetheless, Quah and Schooling had expressed their interest in racing in several high-level competitions scheduled this year, reported The Straits Times (ST).
This includes the World Championships in May, the Commonwealth Games in July, and the Asian Games in September.
Wish Schooling all the best
Schooling’s long-term deferment and whether it should be extended had been a hot topic for Singaporeans since the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics.
Nonetheless, after all the contentious debates, Schooling will be headed to NS today (3 Jan).
We wish him all the best and hope we will continue to see him shine and make Singapore proud, both inside and outside the pool.
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Featured image adapted from @josephschooling on Instagram.
