PEOPLE
Size doesn't matter
01 May 2018
Looking at her petite stature, it's almost impossible to guess that Lieutenant (LTA) Teh May Yong gets her kicks from taking down larger men on the judo mat.
"It's a very technical sport so size doesn't matter. If you get the technique right, you can defeat someone who is much bigger," she explained.
The former national long-distance runner was first exposed to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a sport similar to judo, in 2014 when she was studying in Melbourne, Australia. She has won medals in both sports, but is now focusing on judo as it is an Olympic sport. Her goal is to represent Singapore in the 2024 Olympic Games, and she trains almost daily to ensure that she's in her best shape.
Her interest in all things navy began after watching Hornblower, an old British naval TV series, when she was 16. She's even visited various naval exhibitions in different parts of the world. "Once, for my birthday, I got a friend to bring me to the HMAS Cerberus open house in Victoria, Australia!"
She has just begun her posting on Landing Ship Tank RSS Endurance. "This is still my learning phase so I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about the ship and to see how I can develop as a leader."
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