SALLY Yee may be the youngest athlete representing our island nation to the Rio Olympics in Brazil.
But do not be fooled.
This athletic, yet shy, 15-year-old has more impressive sporting records under her belt than a young girl her age would normally attain.
Yee is Fiji’s lone table tennis medal hope in Rio, coached by Anthony Ho who has been training her for the past five years.
The Jai Narayan College student grew up with this sport at home, an exposure she and her sisters were subjected to given their parents’ love for and participation in this sport.
Yee took up the sport when she was nine years old, an age which her parents officially declared as old enough to play table tennis.
“When they used to play table tennis while I was growing up, I could not join them because they would say I am too young to go out and play,” Yee relayed of her childhood days to Times Sport.
“But after a few years, I was told I was old enough to go with them (parents) so they taught me the basics and that was how I got into table tennis.
“They would teach me and leave me on my own to practise and master the skills before I can progress to the next level.
“So my parents really taught me a lot about this sport.”
Yee represented Fiji on numerous occasions, her first time when she was 11 years old to compete in the cadet qualification in New Caledonia in 2011.
Between 2013 and this year, Yee has participated in various regional and international championships, scooping medals after medals in the various categories she participated in.
And in all those championships, Yee attained impressive placings, either winning gold, silver or bronze or settling at being a runner-up.
Now, her major focus is obviously on Rio de Janeiro.
“Everything is going according to plan. I train after school and most of the times on weekends. I get time to study as well so there is a lot of juggling there for me with training and studies.
“It’s tough (juggling all) but I have to maintain focus and remain committed.
“Like when I come back from tournaments overseas, because I had missed a lot of days in school, I needed to catch up with my school work.”
Yee said she was working on her speed at the moment.
“Speed is very important in table tennis because if you don’t have speed, you won’t be able to reach the ball and lose points.”
Yee commended the support from her biggest fans at home.
And with this year being her first Olympics, she said while she was excited about this opportunity, she was also aware of the pressure that came with it.
“You now I was thinking about it and telling myself, oh my gosh! I’m representing Fiji.
“And I go on and think about how I’m so scared and worried that I might do something stupid in front of so many people.
“But on the other hand, I assured myself I am learning and I must be positive all the time.
“I tell myself that I am only 15, I am growing and there is so much to learn so I have to calm myself down, play my best, learn as much as I can, and enjoy every moment of it.”
