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Clear Focus And Unwavering Determination Pays Off For Afzal

Mendaki Special Achievement Award for Excellence (Non-Academic)


“I took part for the fun of it,” said Secondary 5 Track and Field student-athlete Mohamad Afzal Mohamad Zin. He was referring to the sprint event that he took part in during Sports Day when he was in Primary 4 and won first place. What he referred to as fun, was seen as a discovery of his talent by his teachers who saw him in action. He was then roped in to train with the school team and his journey in track and field took off.

Afzal enrolled in Singapore Sports School in Secondary 1 as he knew that the Singapore Sports School was the best place for him to develop his craft. He shared that he did not get off to a winning start in lower secondary but he was motivated to keep training and do well on the tracks. Just as he was making progress in the sport, the pandemic struck and he had to resign himself to training remotely and had to remind himself constantly to keep his focus on his goals. There were days where he was training at his void deck and used the benches as makeshift hurdles. One thing was clear to him - Train to be the best that he can be.

As face-to-face competitions resumed earlier this year, his discipline and dogged determination finally paid off when he managed to compete in the National School Games and won the gold medal in the 110 metre hurdles. His efforts were further rewarded when he was awarded the Special Achievement Award for Excellence (Non-Academic) at the Anugerah Mendaki 2022.

“I am proud to receive this award and this motivates me to work even harder to realise my dreams of representing the nation in Track and Field,” said Afzal.

Afzal is currently training hard and has his sights on representing Singapore in the Asia Youth Track and Field Championships in South Korea next year. We are rooting for you, Afzal!

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