“Believe in yourself. Do not let our race, religion, background, history or any social stereotypes stop you from achieving your goals and dreams.”

Saiyidah Aisyah Mohd Rafa’ee tidak pernah menganggap identiti Melayunya sebagai penghalang impian. Some create moments, others create history. That’s what Aisyah did when she became the first Singaporean rower to qualify for the Olympic games.

Rowing was novel to her; she only began picking it up at the age of 16. Sejak itu, beliau terus berkembang menjadi seorang pendayung ternama di sini. Against the odds, she mustered the courage to pursue her dream by quitting her job and went through hours of painstaking training overseas to strengthen her mind and body.

“I do not let anything get in between me and my dreams.”

Ketika beliau mula mendayung, sukan itu masih dianggap baharu dan kurang mendapat perhatian. Disebabkan itu, ia juga kurang mendapat sokongan dari segi kewangan. Guru Aisyah di maktab rendah (JC) juga menasihatinya untuk berhenti mendayung kerana mereka bimbang tentang prestasi beliau dalam pelajaran. Even her mum didn’t support her rowing endeavour kerana beliau jarang sekali ada di rumah dek menghadiri latihan di dalam dan luar negara. Maklumlah, ibu bapa mana yang tidak risau. Lagipun, beliau merupakan seorang anak perempuan.

That said, Aisyah tetap tidak pernah mengabaikan pelajarannya. She passed her GCE ‘A’ Levels examinations with flying colors dan seterusnya menjadi orang pertama dalam keluarganya untuk meraih ijazah sarjana muda dan menjadi seorang guru.

“Being mentally resilient is not only important for an athlete but also for everyone else.”

Anyone who had to juggle work and studies would know that it is easier said than done. Apatah lagi, Aisyah perlu membahagikan masa antara mengajar dan menjalani latihan – memang mencabar. Oleh itu, beliau memilih untuk menjadi seorang individu yang bertanggungjawab – dengan tidak menjadi seorang guru yang mengabaikan pelajarnya.

It was definitely a risk, but the three months intense training in Sydney was proven to be worth it. During the 2013 SEA Games, Aisyah did Singapore proud by winning the first gold medal in rowing.

Pada tahun 2016, she did it again! Beliau menjadi pendayung Singapura pertama untuk melayakkan diri dalam Sukan Olimpik. The experience, however, was not smooth sailing. Having to fund her trainings in Sydney with her own savings, beliau terpaksa mendapatkan crowd-funding setelah wang simpanannya kekurangan. Namun, Aisyah amat berbesar hati kerana beliau menerima sokongan yang padu daripada masyarakat Singapura. Aisyah never for once thought that being a Malay would stop her from achieving her dreams. In fact, Aisyah firmly believes that being mentally resilient is exceptionally important for an athlete to achieve success.