Singapore wins 22 awards at WorldSkills, including two golds
Health and social care winner bags gold despite feeling ill
Ms Regina Chia was 15 minutes from her turn to showcase her skill on the second day of the WorldSkills Competition for young people when she started to feel dizzy and nauseous.
She had to ask for her competition schedule to be pushed back by two hours for her to see a doctor, and struggled to get back on track after that.
So when the 20-year-old was awarded a gold medal in her skill area of health and social care at the competition's closing ceremony on Tuesday, it was a surprise.
It was one of two gold medals won by Singapore at the global competition of vocational skills, dubbed the Olympics of Skills, held in Kazan, Russia, this year.
Singapore's 32-strong contingent bagged 22 awards, the highest number since the Republic started taking part in 1995.
Singapore finished ninth out of 63 countries. The previous record for Singapore was 17 medals, secured at WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015.
Participants from Singapore's polytechnics, Institute of Technical Education and Nanyang Technological University took part in the competition, which began last Friday.
The other gold medal was won by Ms Tan Ying Ying, 20, from Nanyang Polytechnic, who competed in 3D digital game art.
CONGRATULATIONS FROM PM
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated the team in a Facebook post yesterday.
He noted that cyber security and water technology were skill categories Singapore was competing in for the first time this year.
Said PM Lee: "These reflect the rapidly evolving needs of the world, and I'm glad that Singapore's youth are poised to meet future challenges."
More than 1,300 people competed in 56 skill areas this year.
China emerged top overall with 35 medals, 16 of which were gold, while Russia took second place with 14 golds among its 22 medals.
Ms Chia, who studied nursing and graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic this year, said: "When I was sick, I had to keep my smile on because that's important in health and social care - if we show that we are sad, the patient can feel it."
In her skill area, competitors are given scenarios to respond to, such as having to treat a patient who has suffered a stroke and cannot speak. In that scenario, she used hand gestures to communicate.
"I was thinking about my friends and family who were supporting me back home, and also about all the effort I've put in for this competition.
"I didn't want to give up after coming all this way," said Ms Chia, who trained for the competition for almost three years.
Competitors from Brazil and Sweden took silver and bronze respectively in the cateogry.
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, who was in Kazan to visit the competition, said he was proud of the competitors' resilience.
Speaking to The Straits Times on Tuesday, Mr Ong said: "Whatever the results are, whether they win a medal, a medallion or nothing at all, everyone has done so well. We have come together as a proud Singapore team and I'm glad I came to show my support."
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