Singapore gymnast Amanda Yap targets balance beam final on Asian Games debut

SINGAPORE: Singapore gymnast Amanda Yap has set her sights on reaching the balance beam final at her maiden Asian Games, as she looks to continue her breakthrough run on the international stage.

The 16-year-old heads into the upcoming competition in Japan fresh from clinching silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July – Singapore's first gymnastics medal at the Games since 2014.

But she is keeping expectations in check ahead of the Asian Games, where she will face some of the continent's strongest gymnasts.

The artistic gymnastics programme gets under way on Sunday, with 14 gold medals up for grabs across five days of competition. 

FOCUSING ON THE NEXT CHALLENGE

“Even though it's quite a big accomplishment, it's just one competition. That doesn't mean that everything else is going to go well,” she said of her Commonwealth Games silver.

“I'm just hoping to go into the Asian Games and do my best because I know that the competitors, especially in gymnastics, are really strong.

“So just being able to compete alongside them will already be such an honour, and hopefully I can get into a final, and I'll just do my best.”

Last October, Yap became the first Singaporean gymnast to qualify for a World Championships final, eventually placing sixth on the balance beam.

Two months later, she claimed silver in the same event at the Bangkok SEA Games, ending Singapore's 20-year wait for an individual balance beam medal at the regional meet.

Her preparations for the Asian Games have not been entirely smooth, with a back injury forcing her to modify her training programme.

As the Games approach, however, she is gradually returning to her usual routine.

“I'm still coming back from an injury, so we kind of modified my training a little bit. But now, as we're nearing the Games, I'm getting back to usual training,” she said.

“We're focusing on maintaining skills and just keeping it consistent.” 

WORKING HER WAY BACK

Yap added that she is still leaving some skills out of her routines for now to prevent the injury from worsening before competition.

She hopes the approach will pay off as she looks to build on her recent success.

“For me, I just try to focus on myself because we can't always control how other competitors do,” she said.

“I feel like it also depends on the competition day itself. So I just try to focus, do my best and not worry about others."

For Yap, who first tried gymnastics at the age of three, the journey has come with its share of twists and turns.

But part of the sport's appeal remains the thrill of mastering difficult skills and building the resilience it demands.

“For me, the challenges that it gives you, and being able to do all these cool flips, just having to build resilience from these challenges that we face in training, and applying it in real life really helps a lot,” she said.