Carmen Goh juggles netball with her day job as a doctor
At last year's Hong Kong Four Nations netball tournament, co-captain Charmaine Soh earned her 100th international cap for Singapore.
Her teammate Carmen Goh, in contrast, had just earned her first.
Both the 29-year-olds were teammates back in the Under-21 national squad, but took different routes in their sporting progress.
Soh pulled a joke then, by asking Goh why she continued playing while having to juggle between her demanding job, but Goh simply replied: "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Goh has been a doctor at the National University Hospital's emergency department for the last five years.
Thus, she is required to be laser-focused during her hectic shifts, which can go up to 10 hours, while being just as alert at the netball court for training after.
She schedules her shifts around the three court training sessions a week and completes her strengthening sessions at the hospital's gym.
"It can get mentally draining... so I remind myself to relax before I refocus on what I need to achieve," she said.
"I also have to sacrifice my social time to get enough sleep. Luckily for me, I can fall asleep the moment I'm horizontal."
Goh is part of the 12-woman team competing at the Netball World Cup from today, when they take on Barbados.
Singapore, seeded 15th in the tournament, will also face Malawi and New Zealand as they aim to break through into the top 12.
This will be Goh's first global tournament but coach Natalie Milicich believes that she is ready for the big task.
"She's got a great long vision with her game but also brings speed in the mid-court," said the Kiwi.
"It's something you have to admire - how she actually works full-time with her job and still maintains an elite level of netball."
Co-captain Soh said that team morale is high despite their lack of experience.
EXPERIENCE
Only Soh and wing-attack Kimberly Lim have competed at the quadrennial meet and now serve as mentors to the rest.
After the World Cup, they will tackle the Oct 20-26 Nations Cup at OCBC Arena.
They will also try to reclaim the SEA Games gold medal, which they lost to Malaysia two years ago.
Whatever the stage, Soh is excited to be playing alongside teammates like the 1.62m Goh.
She said: "She's highly capable. She may not be big in size but she has a huge personality on court."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
