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Reading the article “ ” (Aug 4) reminded me that it indeed takes a lot of sacrifice to raise a child, or world champion in his case. As Singapore moves into its 60th year since independence and away from the traditional “Have you done your maths and science homework?” mentality, what will it take for us to produce more Olympic and world champions? Besides the state providing financial support to athletes under the Spex programme, for instance, parents who are relatively comfortable in their finances can try to nurture their children’s sporting talents when they are young. The now-retired Charmaine Soh and some of her netball teammates’ challenges in balancing full-time work with training and competitions have been mentioned in interviews and articles. Looking at Max Maeder, 17,  who gave Singapore more reason to celebrate its 59th birthday, and national paddlers Isaac Quek and Koen Pang, both age-group world champions, I do not worry that Singapore lacks world-class sporting talent. Instead, I am concerned whether policies – for example, on deferment from national service – will be flexible enough and not stand in the way of our top athletes. Perhaps there ought to be other definitions of national service. This month of our 59th birthday, let us celebrate our achievements, our sporting ones no less. Let us cheer for our athletes whether they win or lose and applaud their sacrifices made for their sport. May Farhanna Farid power her way to another world record, may Isaac or Koen become an Asian or Olympic champion one day, and may Shanti Pereira bounce back from Paris in time to come. There are other roads to take besides the “maths and science” one.