Pride of representing Singapore helps gymnast Hoe Wah Toon persevere

Before his Commonwealth Games bronze medal feat in Glasgow, Scotland last month, Singapore national gymnast Hoe Wah Toon had never made the podium in his competitive career.

The 25-year-old competed at three Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2005, 2007 and 2011, and was the first local gymnast to make the 2006 edition of the Commonwealth Games. Each time, he returned empty-handed.

“Each time, I was always fourth or fifth and really, really close,” he told Yahoo Singapore during a training session last week. “In gymnastics, it’s the performance on the day that counts and my execution on the day has always not been too good.”

"I always go in being able to get a medal, but never, ever performing to that standard.”

Hoe even took a complete hiatus from the sport for three years, while doing his National Service, to “take his mind off things”. When persuaded to return for the 2011 SEA Games, he wound up finishing fifth again.

Breaking through

But he found newfound motivation thanks to a new coach, Zhang Yu, who helped him make good progress in his routines.

“I saw my floor improve quite tremendously and that kept me going,” said Hoe. “In gymnastics, it is quite satisfying when you learn a new skill, especially when it’s quite a difficult one.”

It paid off years later, in Scotland, when Hoe made the finals of both floor and vault events, eventually coming in third in the latter to bag Singapore’s first-ever medal in the routine.

It was an unexpected win as the level of competition was high, he admitted: “I always wanted one medal at least, but I didn’t think it’d be at a Commonwealth Games.”

Remarkably, Hoe only trained for around three months in the build-up to the Games, as he was previously on a seven-month long break to focus on the final semester of his dentistry studies.

He also took the gamble of competing in just two events, down from his usual four, so as not to delay sitting for his exams.

“All this while, I've wanted a medal at a major international Games, so that’s why I kept pushing myself,” he said. “To juggle school and gymnastics was really tough; it was partly because I really wanted a medal [that I persevered].

“I'm not so stressed anymore… I've achieved what I wanted.”

Balancing act

The boyish-looking Hoe first started training at the age of seven, following in the footsteps of his sister who was introduced to gymnastics by their father.

The sport became a family affair, with his twin brother also joining in, though he is the only one left now after his siblings suffered injuries. But the support is there – the Hoe family made the long trip to Glasgow to watch him compete.

Hoe recalls having not much of a social life ever since his training intensified during secondary school and he developed a hectic schedule.

“After school, we’ll just head down to the gym and we never ever went out for movies or class gatherings; even on weekends, we used to train double sessions,” he explained. “Only Sundays were off, which were left for family time and studying.”

It continued that way when Hoe entered university, where he would attend classes from 8am till late evening before training for about two hours to round off his day.

He recently graduated and has been working full-time as a dentist for about two months, but still trains up to six times weekly to prepare for major competitions.

As he spends a large portion of his waking hours with his team-mates, Hoe regards them as kin. “You form a bond with them and you are kind of [all] in it together,” he added. “Even our families are friends.”

Looking beyond

Hoe was considering retirement after the upcoming Asian Games in September, but has since changed his mind as he wants a crack at the World University Games next year.

It is a competition he holds in high regard, having enjoyed previous editions in Shenzhen, 2011 and Kazan, 2013. “It’s like the next big thing after the Olympics,” he said.

Hoe also realised a personal dream when he competed against his idol, reigning world and Olympic vault champion Yang Hak-Seon, at the last University Games. He is likely to see the 21-year-old, dubbed “The God of Vault”, again at the Asian Games in Incheon later this month.

As such, he has no regrets dedicating much of his life thus far to gymnastics, despite the relative lack of medals – or fame – while representing Singapore.

“There’s the pride you get when you wear the flag,” he said. “People don’t see what the big deal is, but as an athlete, because you’ve put in the number of hours and you’ve worked so hard, you just want to go up and do your best.”