SINGAPORE — Two-time SEA Games gold medallist, equestrienne Janine Khoo, has retired from her sport at just 18 years of age.

The teenager, who became Singapore’s first equestrienne in 30 years to win an individual SEA Games gold medal at the individual show jumping event in the 2013 Myanmar Games, arrived at the decision after succumbing to the perennial challenge student-athletes face: Struggling to balance studies and sports at an elite level.

She did well enough in school to be selected for admission by four universities she applied to in the United Kingdom, but the struggles are just too much to bear, said the 2014 Sportsgirl of the Year, who also won gold in the team jumping event at last June’s SEA Games on home soil. 

(CLARIFICATION: Due to an editing error, it was reported that Janine Khoo decided to retire because of the demands of balancing schoolwork with sports. Janine had planned, in 2011, to stop riding after the 2015 SEA Games to focus on her IB exams at the end of 2015, and then on her further studies.)

“I’ve retired (from equestrianism) indefinitely,” Janine told TODAY in an email interview. “I was already mentally prepared for retirement (after last year’s SEA Games) and it seemed a sensible thing to do. I am happy and grateful to have achieved what I did.

“I really have no regrets when I look back at my competitive show jumping career. And it’s not because of the SEA Games gold medals or the other successes I have had, but more how juggling high-level sports and academic studies has moulded me as a person. I have really matured in the past four years, and the sport has toughened my character a lot.”

Dr Melanie Chew, president of the Equestrian Federation of Singapore,  said it was a pity that Janine is hanging up her riding boots for good.

“Nowadays, you see sportsmen around the world turning full-time. In Singapore, some of the athletes have taken gap years and time off from work to train, because it is tough juggling competitive sports and studies or work,” she said. “Some eventually choose to retire. We are seeing more and more of these examples.”

Janine is currently with her parents in the UK to decide on which university to enrol into to read veterinary medicine. 

In 2013, the gutsy teenager inspired a nation with her remarkable comeback from a shattered cheekbone after being thrown off a horse during a training session. 

She required a six-hour surgery in which doctors inserted four titanium plates and a wire mesh where her cheekbone used to be. She then went on to win the 2013 SEA Games gold two months later. 

Despite having 21 stitches on the inside of her right cheek, she went ahead and sat for her O-Levels examinations before competing in Myanmar.

Retiring from sports may seem premature for a talented teenage athlete, especially for someone who has made so many sacrifices to pursue her sporting passion, but Janine said enough is enough.

“(My sporting career) was very rewarding but I had to make a lot of sacrifices, especially in 2015,” the former International Baccalaureate (IB) student from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) explained. 

“It was difficult (coping with both competitive sports and studies), especially before my final IB exams. I would either wake up at 3am or stay up till 3am if I needed to complete my school assignments.

“I made a lot of sacrifices, especially when it came to social gatherings and sleep. I didn’t have much time to de-stress too, with such a busy schedule, so it was more a matter of making sure my stress levels didn’t go through the roof.” 

After completing her studies, is there a chance that she would make a return to equestrianism? 

“I have considered (returning to the sport after university studies), but have yet to make a decision,” the teenager said. 

Janine’s parents said they have always encouraged her since she was young to make her own decisions. 

“For us, it was only a matter of helping her realise her dreams,” said her mother, Carol. “She’s very level-headed and mature and has given it much thought, so we respect her decision. 

“It was one of the hardest things she has had to do so far: Fighting fatigue, curriculum time lost from overseas training and competitions, school work deadlines and deadlines from other leadership responsibilities she had in school, (and) then expectations to perform from herself and others.

“It certainly wasn’t easy for her.”