TALKING SPORT, THE PRESIDENCY AND DISABILITY
Conversely, if there was one passion that drove his younger self, it was sport. Asked about one thing about himself he would never change, President Tharman said he would never stop liking sport.
“I might add music, but sports came first,” said the president, who as a youngster was active in hockey, athletics, football and cricket, among other sports. “I grew up playing sports every single day, even on Sundays.”
He remembered an instance where, at about the age of 15, he had an arm injury and was supposed to play hockey that day. Despite the injury, he insisted on going to hockey practice.
“But because I couldn’t use my arms, I decided to play as goalkeeper, where you don’t need to be using your arms so much, and you use your legs as well,” he recounted. “So, I love sports.”
Nowadays, he does not do any serious sport but does exercise, he said. Does he play golf, however, as other heads of state do, asked Michael Ooi, 19, who has autism.
