Age is just a number to Joey
At 20, she is already World Open champion and going to her second Asiad
At 20, national kegler Joey Yeo already has a world title to her name.
She refuses to be limited by her youth and is not afraid to dream big. Four years ago, she made her Asian Games debut as part of the team that won the gold medal in the team of five event.
She will represent Singapore again at this year's edition, in Jakarta and Palembang, from Aug 1 8 to Sept 2.
She may be the youngest member of the women's team - Jazreel Tan, Shayna Ng, Cherie Tan, Daphne Tan and debutant Bernice Lim being the others - but, to her, age is just a number.
She said: "When we're on the lanes, no one is going to give me a chance because I'm so much younger.
"It doesn't make a difference and I choose not to let it affect me."
In the four years since her Asiad debut, she has competed in multiple competitions, tasted the joys of success, endured the pain of failure, and gained a wealth of experience.
The Singapore Institute of Technology Physiotherapy undergraduate said: "What comes with age is maturity and the many tournaments that I've been to have brought a lot of experience.
"Learning from the pros and ball reps on tour has helped me take my game to the next level."
Women's national team coach Jason Yeong-Nathan, 35, who has been coaching Joey for two years, feels that she has developed significantly.
He said: "She has grown in terms of being more focused, more determined, knows what she wants and controls her emotions a lot better."
After the team's victory at the Incheon Games in 2014, Joey enjoyed her own triumph, winning the inaugural World Open in Japan the following year.
Since then, however, she has not won any individual titles, although she has come agonisingly close on several occasions.
At the Singapore Open in June, she was pipped by Jazreel in the step-ladder final.
While admitting that the dry spell has been difficult, she believes that each tournament offers valuable lessons, saying: "It has been tough, but I choose to look at it as many learning experiences coming together."
In preparation for this year's Games, Joey has been working on eliminating psychological barriers in her game.
Visits to the psychologists also concentrate on more team-play strategies to prepare for the more team-centric tournament this month after the organisers retained just the trios, team of six and Masters events.
The focus on teamwork is welcomed by Joey, who feels that it has helped to forge stronger bonds with her teammates.
SUPPORT
She added that her teammates have been a major source of support for her through it all, saying: "Training can be tiring, it can be mentally draining, it can push you to the brink of wanting to quit.
"But, when you look around and see everyone in this together, you feel compelled to put in the same amount of effort or even more to improve together."
The introduction of a variety of changes this year like a new scoring system poses new challenges to the team.
Instead of the conventional format where points for a strike are dependent on the next two rolls and spares are dependent on the next shot, every frame is independent with strikes worth 30 points and spares worth 10 points in addition to the number of pins in the first roll.
But Joey is confident, saying: "All of us have put our hearts and soul into our preparation and we'll be going out there to do our very best."
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