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LEE IMMERSING IN GREECE
The Straits Times
|January 03, 2025
World Aquatics scholarship recipient quits job to pursue water polo dreams
In September, national water polo player Heather Lee received an e-mail that delivered exciting news, but also presented her with a dilemma.
It was an update that the Singaporean was looking forward to – she had been selected for the World Aquatics scholarship programme, which had just been expanded to include water polo players.
But while she celebrated with her teammates who were with her as she opened the confirmation e-mail, she also had a tough decision to make as she had just started her data analytics job several months ago.
After discussions with her parents, teammates, coaches and boss, Lee quit her job to take on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which has allowed her to train with Greek club ANC Glyfada since Nov 12, 2024. The stint ends on June 30, 2025.
The 24-year-old left driver said: "It was definitely not a straightforward choice… I had to take some time and decide what I wanted in terms of my sporting and professional career."
With several major events on the horizon in 2025 and 2026, she decided to take the plunge "in order to get better for the upcoming competitions that the team and I are striving to do our best in and bring glory to Singapore".
This story is from the January 03, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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