SINGAPORE – With a historic Olympic gold medal around his neck, a new Olympic record time of 50.39s to his name, and with an entire nation behind him and celebrating his success in the 100m butterfly on Saturday (Aug 13), the sky seems to be the limit for Joseph Schooling.

And at just 21 years of age, the next few years for Schooling will prove crucial in his continuing development as he looks to make a splash in the pool again at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

However, Schooling’s immediate future in the sport remains uncertain, with his long-term national service (NS) deferment, which was granted in 2013, set to come to an end after the Rio Games.

Schooling took advantage of his NS deferment to prepare for Rio by moving from the Bolles School in Florida, where he had been based since 2008, to the University of Texas so that he could be part of the Texas Longhorns swimming team and train under former US head coach Eddie Reese.

It remains unclear at the moment if Schooling will request the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) to grant him another long-term NS deferment to train for the Tokyo Games so that he can defend his 100m fly Olympic gold.

But if Schooling decides to do so, he will be able to count on the full support of the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA), promised SSA secretary-general Oon Jin Teik.

“I think it’s not just me hoping that Joseph will get another (NS) deferment, I think the whole of Singapore will ask for him to defer at the rate he’s going!” Oon told TODAY.

“After all, he still has two to three more Olympic Games more to go in him and will definitely have more medal opportunities.

“He’s not trying to avoid NS, it’s just a matter of timing. Mindef has been very supportive so far. Sometimes they get critics, but their policy is not fixated and very reasonable, so I’m not worried, and we’ll let things take its course.

“But his personal plans must come into consideration first. If he says ‘No, I want to take a break’, we won’t push him.

“So let him articulate his needs first, and then we’ll support him in any way we can, be it in terms of funding, writing a letter, or liaising with Sport Singapore and MCCY (Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth).”

In the aftermath of Schooling’s victory, Singaporeans also took to social media to express their hope that Mindef would grant the national swim star another long-term deferment from NS to train for Tokyo 2020.

Facebook user Brian Angwin posted: “I hope this opens the whole debate around NS.

“Instead of making small changes, the whole idea and process needs to be revisited. Yes to NS but shorter timeframe, equality to include women, exemptions for those who can do more for Singapore with their sporting talent on the world stage.

“Let’s review completely and make a change that can fit in a modern world.”

James Rodrigu Ez posted on TODAY’s Facebook page: “Sir, may I post my one and only question to our Singapore government. What are you planning to do after Joseph Schooling comes back to Singapore from Rio? Push him to National Service where his swimming training would cease for two years?

“I do hope that his daily swimming training continues, while he serves his duty in National Service.

“Keep in mind, the next goal is to break the world record in 100m butterfly. By ceasing all daily swimming training would not help him reach this goal. I earnestly hope the Singapore government hears and does something fruitful about this.”

National marathoner Soh Rui Yong also pleaded for Schooling’s deferment on his Facebook page. “Ministry of Defence, 4 more years NS deferment for Joseph Schooling? Please?” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans also went on Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook page to appeal for the Government to allow Schooling to defer NS again.

Joey Foo Choon Fong wrote: "Can Joseph Schooling be granted full NS exemption? The achievement of an Olympic Gold medal has already far exceeded what an average guy would achieve in the NS cycle. Pls allow him to continue training full time to win even more gold medals in 2020 & beyond."

Another Facebook user Kennenth Wong added: "Hi Sir, will you grant Joseph full exemption from NS so he can continue to train in the US and win more Olympic gold medals for Singapore?"

Agreed Edwin Lim in his plea: "Dear Prime Minister, please do back this up with concrete action. It's time we allow more of our young male athletes a definitive deferment from NS. Joseph Schooling has proven it is definitely worth it. Olympic Gold, wow!"

Similar requests were also seen on the Facebook page of Minister of Home Affairs K Shanmugam.

Edmund Lam posted: “Just hope Singaporeans can appreciate the tremendous effort behind this gold medal.

“We must start a campaign to exempt him from NS. Let him focus on the next Olympics in Tokyo and bring more honour to our country. He makes it seem simple but he cannot afford any distractions.”

Sky Tan added: “Hi Sir, any plans to exempt or defer Schooling’s NS, until he stop peaking at least?

“You could even consider it for Quah ZW (Zheng Wen) too. I hope the government can do this to grow our own talents, be it a form of encouragement or reward.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ROMAINE SOH