SINGAPORE – After clinching two World Boccia Cup titles in 2023, Singapore’s Jeralyn Tan entered the April 30-May 6 Montreal edition as the firm favourite to retain her BC1 female individual crown.
After all, Brazilian world No. 1 Andreza Vitoria Oliveira – whom Tan had beaten en route to her triumph in Portugal last October – was not on the entrants’ list this time around.
The rankings prevailed in Canada, as world No. 2 Tan claimed her third World Cup ahead of six other top-20 athletes.
While it may have looked like a straightforward victory, she did not have it easy. Tan and her coach Yurnita Omar had to overcome various challenges before and during the tournament.
Laying in her path at the Maurice Richard Arena was a potential stumbling block in Japan’s world No. 11 Hiromi Endo, whom Tan had never beaten before.
Just last December, Endo had defeated Tan 5-2 during a pool-stage match at the World Boccia Asia-Oceania Regional Championship in Hong Kong.
They were drawn together again in Pool A in Montreal. Having done her homework thoroughly, Tan beat Endo 9-4 to qualify for the semi-finals as the top seed.
She also won 9-0 against the Czech Republic’s Katerina Curinova and lost 3-2 to Poland’s Kinga Koza in the other pool matches.
After downing France’s Aurelie Aubert 4-1 to reach the final, Tan repeated her pool-stage feat to beat Endo 4-2 for her third title on the circuit.
Tan, 35, told The Straits Times: “I could feel my heart beating so fast. I really couldn’t imagine that I could beat her (Endo) again in the final.”
The victories resulted from many hours of hard work from Tan and Yurnita. At the tournament, they filmed Endo’s matches and took detailed notes of her throwing technique and body language.
The goal of boccia, which is played by wheelchair-bound athletes with motor-skill impairment, is to throw or bowl the game balls (red or blue) as close as possible to the white target. Boccia means “to bowl” in Italian.
Yurnita, who has coached Tan since 2016, said: “We knew because we lost to her before we had to do double preparation. The only time we rested was when we slept.
“Even during dinner or breakfast, there was always an iPad on the table with some analysis we were looking at. Every minute, every second. Except when she eats, of course.”
Before the tournament, Yurnita had also designed a mental training regimen involving scenario-based visualisations as Tan, who trains twice a week at the OCBC Arena, has only three sparring partners in Singapore.
Yurnita added: “We have a small pool of sparring partners because the boccia community is very small. Unlike other countries, like China, Japan and South Korea, they have boccia in every state.
“Before every major Games, they have their national games where they choose only the best and they spar with the best.”
Tan has come a long way since picking up the sport in 2008 as a co-curricular activity when she was a Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School student.
She went on to represent Singapore at the Asian Para Games in 2010 and got her breakthrough when she won the 2021 World Boccia Asia-Oceania Regional Championship.
She is now gearing up for another title defence in July, at the Povoa de Varzim World Boccia Cup in Portugal.
After that, she could make her Paralympic debut at the Aug 28-Sept 8 Paris Games, as she looks set to qualify via world ranking.
Another round of intense preparation awaits, but Tan is up to the task. She said: “I still can go for it and I will try my best.”
