She played floorball while studying to be a doctor

After an accidental introduction to floorball during her first month in junior college, Miss Vanessa Lim, 24, was hooked.

After two years of training and playing for her junior college, she was invited by her coach to play for the Albatross Floorball Club in the annual National Floorball Women's Division 1 Championship League.

She continued playing after entering NUS' Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine for her five-year MBBS course, which she will be graduating from on Sunday.

She successfully tried out for the NUS and national teams, and ended up winning gold with the Singapore team at the 2015 SEA Games.

"I knew that my time as a national sportswoman would be short-lived as I already had plans to focus on my career once I start working as a doctor, so I tried my best to cherish my time in the team," said Miss Lim, who is now doing her housemanship at the Singapore General Hospital.

These experiences did not come without sacrifices - she found balancing training and long hours of compulsory campus work draining.

EXHAUSTING

"I felt weary to the bone sometimes. On average, (I had) five hours of sleep. I also worried about whether I was compromising on my studies," said Miss Lim.

With an exhausting routine of lectures and tutorials from 7am to 5pm, followed by training three times a week from 7.30pm to 10pm, Miss Lim occasionally considered giving up the sport.

PASSION: Miss Vanessa Lim played floorball for NUS and for the national team. PHOTO: COURTESY OF VANESSA LIM

"I knew that my parents, supportive as they are, would always place my studies as the top priority.

"And I knew that if I wanted to continue in my sporting career, I needed to show them that I was handling medical school well too," she said.

Despite the struggle, Miss Lim persevered by learning to make more effective use of her time.

"The thing that kept me going is the thrill of the game and my amazing teammates. With them to play alongside, floorball became so much more than just a game."

I felt weary to the bone sometimes. On average, (I had) five hours of sleep. I also worried about whether I was compromising on my studies.

- Miss Vanessa Lim