SINGAPORE — When Tao Li came out of the pool at the London Aquatics Centre after exiting the semi-finals of the women’s 100m butterfly at the 2012 Olympics, she already knew her dream of achieving an Olympics medal was as good as over.

Then 22, she had calculated that she would be “too old” for another shot in Rio de Janeiro four years later. It was why she opted out of the Rio Games in August and started planning for life after her competitive swimming days were over.

Yesterday, the 26-year-old launched her own swimming academy — the Tao Li Swimming Club — at the Temasek Club. She is also completing her studies in business management at the Singapore Institute of Management in her spare time.

While this new direction in life is exciting, Tao Li cannot help but look back at her swimming career with a tinge of regret.

“Missing out on an Olympics medal and a hat-trick of Asian Games gold medals in 2014 (she took silver after winning in both the 2006 and 2010 editions) are my biggest regrets. But, in life, things don’t always go your way,” she said, while reflecting with TODAY on her 12-year swimming career. “You are given certain things in life, and you make the most out of those.”

The Wuhan native, who left China when she was 13 to pursue her swimming aspirations in Singapore in 2002 after being deemed “too short” for the China national swim team, has built her career out of defiance.

Wearing her hair in shocking blonde, the 1.60m-tall swimmer also talked about having to “train doubly hard” because of her lack of height, and also having a “tough two to three years settling down” in Singapore in the beginning.

“Everything wasn’t easy, and sometimes people don’t see what goes on behind the success. There were feelings of fear, nervousness, happiness, sadness, and frustrations en route to getting where I am today,” she said.

Tao Li claimed that having three coaches in four years — Peter Churchill, Barry Prime and Ian Turner — leading up to the London Olympics disrupted her preparations.

“I was also distracted during the peak period of my career from 2005 to 2008. Sometimes when you have achieved good things, you lose focus a little,” she said.

“Of course, I pulled myself out of it soon enough. But I was feeling lost the past few years after so many coaching disruptions. I couldn’t find a coaching style that suits me and that I can stick with. After that, I couldn’t regain my peak form.”

But make no mistake, Tao Li — who has competed in six SEA Games, three Asian Games and two Olympics — is not one to wallow in self-pity.

“I am still one of the best swimmers in Asia. I’m still swimming a top-10 time at the Asian Games (in the 50m fly),” she said.

“I don’t think I’m proud, but yes, top athletes do have a certain level of confidence in them and (are) able to block out the negative stuff. Perhaps it is just my personality, and this fire inside me to always want to look forward and look up.”

The only thing that perhaps made Tao Li a little “sad and hurt” was when she received scathing remarks from Singaporeans who had not embraced her fully as a fellow countryman, and belittled her achievements in the pool. “Of course, I feel a little bit sad sometimes, but I don’t let it affect me too much. People are always going to talk, no matter how good or kind you are,” she said.

“I have always been training in Singapore, I speak Singlish, I assimilate myself with the culture here. I am proud to be Singaporean. Sometimes, I feel that Singapore should be proud that I am someone who came through the local sporting system. I have never travelled overseas before the 2008 Olympics. I have always been training in Singapore, only leaving for a few months here and there to get some high-altitude training. I am proud as I am a perfect example that Singapore is capable of grooming (talented swimmers).”

While Tao Li begins to wind down her swimming career, she is now focused on giving back to Singapore. Top of her agenda is to use her swimming academy to find the “next Tao Li”. She said: “Singapore has given me a home and given me so much, and I really want to give back and pass on my knowledge. I want to help Singapore swimming rise up to another level.”

The Olympic flame may be doused, but Tao Li remains keen to compete at the regional level.

“I am still going for the 2017 SEA Games, and I still want to get back my 50m fly title at the 2018 Asian Games. It is still very possible,” she said. “Don’t ever rule out anything. Look at Michael Phelps, he went in and out of retirement, and now he is back with good times. So, who knows?”

* Visit taoliswimmingclub.com to find out more about Tao Li’s new swimming academy