Singapore’s Olympic swimming champion Joseph Schooling was handed a fresh national service deferment on Tuesday, allowing him to compete in next year’s postponed Tokyo Games.
The city-state
requires all male citizens and permanent residents aged 18 to serve two years
in the military, the police or emergency services.
But Schooling was allowed to defer national service in 2014 to train for Rio 2016, where he famously beat his idol Michael Phelps to win the 100 metres butterfly — Singapore’s first and only Olympic gold medal.
The 25-year-old was
given another reprieve to train for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the Games were
moved to next year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The defence
ministry said it “will grant extensions of deferment” for Schooling and another
Tokyo-bound Singaporean swimmer, Quah Zheng Wen, “to train for and compete in
the Olympic Games”.
Both, however, will
be scheduled for enlistment should the postponed Games be cancelled, the
ministry said.
“Deferment may be
granted to exceptional sportsmen who are assessed to be potential medal winners
for Singapore at top-tier international competitions like the Olympic Games,” a
ministry statement said.
“Applicants will
have to show why deferment is necessary for them to compete successfully at
these competitions and bring national pride to Singapore.”
It said Schooling
and Quah have met the criteria and have committed to be focused in their
preparations.
In 2018, the
defence ministry refused an application by Singaporean footballer Ben Davis to
defer national service so he could play in the English Premier League, saying
he did not meet the criteria.
Davis signed a deal
with Premier League side Fulham anyway, and could now face jail for missing his
national service if he returns to Singapore.
Schooling faces a tough fight to repeat his 2016 success — he was criticised for being out of shape at last year’s Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines, where he won only one individual gold medal.
