Determined to excel in sports despite hearing loss, he took the visual route
Despite being born with hearing loss, Mr Lee Yong Cheong did not let it hamper him.
Yesterday, he was one of the Normal (Technical) students who collected their N-level results.
The 19-year-old student at Beatty Secondary School suffers from severe hearing loss in his left ear and moderate to severe hearing loss in his right ear.
Yet Mr Lee is determined to excel in sports.
He said through a sign language interpreter: "I believe the deaf can do it, we are not any different from other people. I am very visual, so I can learn that way too."
To hone his skills at javelin, shotput and wushu, Mr Lee would observe his friends and watch YouTube videos repeatedly to familiarise himself.
His efforts have paid off, earning him medals in javelin and shotput.
Mr Lee said the conducive environment in school also made it easier for him. For example, he has a sign language teacher tagged to him in class to help him.
This was not the case many years ago, when he was still living in Perak, Malaysia. He moved to Singapore when he was 17.
He said: "Some people would look down on me, and they would think deaf people are dumb. But I've learnt to put that behind me and focus on the good things in my life."
Mr Lee scored several distinctions and has been offered to study mechatronics and robotics in the Institute of Technical Education College Central.
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