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(Sports)Singapore's Olympic gold medallist granted service deferment

Xinhua, August 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore's newly-crowned Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling has been granted another National Service (NS) deferment in Singapore till after 2020, so that he can fully prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Monday.

"The Armed Forces Council approved Mr. Joseph Schooling's request for extension of his deferment and for him to be enlisted for NS after the 2020 Olympic Games," Ng said.

Recently, focusing has been on whether Schooling can again defer his NS since the 21-year-old cheered the nation with a gold medal in men's 100m butterfly finals last week.

In 2013, Schooling has been granted NS deferment, which allowed him to suspend his NS until after the Rio Olympics this year.

Commenting on Schooling's performances, Ng said, "He trained hard and met all performance milestones on his way to Olympic glory. The rest of his achievements are, as they say, now the stuff of Olympic and Singapore legend."

Schooling's family said they are "very appreciative" about the outcome. Endit