Humans of KR - Clarisse Gan
As Resident Sports Director and Handball Captain, Clarisse is no stranger to anything sports-related! This multi-talented sportswoman is a key player in all 7 sports she plays - handball, basketball, tennis, football, floorball, squash, and table tennis. (Fun fact: she was recruited into table tennis the day before the match when captains Roxanne and Teng Yue witnessed Clarisse’s skills whilst she was just fooling around with her friends - now THAT’s talent!!) This article brings you BTS exclusive on how she manages to juggle so many sports, JCRC duties, and studies. Keep on reading for some real #hustling tips!
How do you juggle 7 sports, hall duties, and studies?
*laughs* In general, I sacrifice my sleep due to trainings almost everyday in Sem 1, along with meetings and admin work. But I'm quite lucky that my timetable is quite flexible and spread out, so I can catch up on my work or rest in the day too. I guess I forced myself to stay quite focused throughout the sem and keep going with the help of coffee and friends around hall :)
Which is your favourite sport out of the 7 and why?
It’s very tough to choose a favourite but I would say among the sports I picked up in hall, it would be handball because goalkeeping is really quite fun haha. Also, I really love the team's camaraderie and fighting spirit.
If you could join one culture group, what would it be and why?
Op. I'm really not cut out for culture haha but I guess I could try choir cos I like to sing sometimes.
What is the funniest moment you had during training?
*pauses to think, then suddenly starts laughing to herself* The funniest moment was when we were having a handball friendly against EH during winter training. We lost the ball and EH was going for a counterattack (fast break). She took a shot at the 6m line but it hit the goal post and the ball deflected onto my face. My contacts dropped out!! Xinru who saw everything just burst out laughing instead of helping me or asking if I was ok (this was all caught on video). Nicole laughed at me too. Ber(nice) was the only one who ran over to help me. I had to be subbed out ‘cause I couldn’t see anything, but went back on later after I put my contacts back in. Ok actually I was laughing when it happened too ‘cause I couldn’t believe it haha.
What are the highlights of IHG this season?
Hmmm… The first would be making it into handball finals. We were up against EH in the semi-finals and we knew beforehand that it would be a tough fight. They previously beat us during a friendly (the one where my contacts came out haha) and we also went up against them during IHG finals last year. But the team had faith and we fought hard during the semi-finals, beating EH! I’m really proud of the team. The other would be winning gold for table tennis haha. I don’t think anyone expected this result but I’m really grateful to have been part of the team :)
Now that IHG has come to an end, do you have a message for our KR athletes?
TGIO 😅 and good job! It's been a long and draining season, but also a very fulfilling and enjoyable one I'm sure. Thanks for working so hard throughout the season and fighting so hard for KR. We've done well this year and I hope that beyond the results, all of you made good memories and lasting friendships too. 💙