Competing and winning against some of the world's best youth athletes in front of a home crowd at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) opened up a world of possibilities for some of Singapore's promising young guns.

But for some, the euphoria of their YOG triumphs soon turned into disillusionment and disappointment.

Some, like taekwondo exponent Daryl Tan, were hit by the Singaporean conundrum of having to balance studies with sport, while Shafinas Abdul Rahman (taekwondo) and archer Abdul Dayyan Jaffar lamented the lack of development in their respective disciplines.

Shafinas, who won the girls' 55kg category bronze medal at the YOG when she was 17, quit the national team a year later.

She had initially set her sights on competing at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia. But she told The Straits Times that despite training almost daily, she felt that there was no proper guidance and questioned whether there was a future for her in the sport.

The 27-year-old, who is now an occupational therapist, said: "I felt the future in taekwondo was bleak and there wasn't much direction, so I decided that it would be better for me to focus on something more certain.

"For any athlete, you're (always) thinking at the back of your mind whether all the sacrifices and hard work will amount to something, especially in Singapore."

Fellow YOG bronze medallist Abdul Dayyan had a similar sentiment. While he has fond memories of his time as an athlete, his recollections are also tainted with the struggles he faced.

After an "unbelievable" experience at the YOG where he secured a bronze medal in the mixed team recurve event with 16-year-old Turkish partner Elif Begunhan Unsal, he had hoped that the medal would result in more support for the sport and its athletes.

Recalling how he had trained with a few different coaches then, he said he had wished for funds to hire at least two national coaches for the long term.

Training then was also mainly held at archery club ranges or school fields and he had hoped for a national training ground.

But little changed after the YOG and Abdul Dayyan, who found it difficult to juggle his studies and training, decided to focus on the latter.

The 26-year-old said: "I miss my sport a lot, but things just didn't go well. To me, it was more of a disappointment because I feel that my sport was and still (is) neglected. I was expecting change and improvement."

The civil servant also called for more support for athletes, saying: "All I'm asking for is for the country to find, invest and build up all our talented athletes to stand a chance of achieving their dreams."

Tan had considered becoming a full-time taekwondo exponent following his bronze in the YOG's 55kg category, but eventually decided to take the "safer" route and focus on his studies.

While the 27-year-old does not remember the biggest fight of his career, it remains "one of the proudest moments" of his life.

He said: "No one really expected us to (capture a) medal or do well. I'm very proud that all my hard work paid off."

Now a corporate lawyer, Tan, who is no longer involved in sport, said the lessons he learnt as a young athlete have helped him as an adult.

"Regardless of the outcome, being an athlete in your youth does contribute a fair bit of grit and tenacity for any future career."