From lost kid to inspired youth to aspiring karateka

13 Jan 2017

Today, 13 Jan 2017 - Article featured SP’s second-year Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (DEEE) student, Audric Ping, who is competing in the Singapore Karate-do Federation’s open selection trials on 14 January for a spot in the national squad. He shared his struggles growing up – his mother died of breast cancer seven years ago, while his paternal grandmother succumbed to a stroke three months later. Then a student at St Gabriel’s Secondary School, Audric’s studies suffered and his poor N-Level results subsequently saw him ending up at ITE College Central.  Support from his coach, friends and his ITE lecturer inspired him to pick himself up. He worked hard to achieve a 3.8 GPA in his studies in ITE, winning a number of academic and co-curricular activity awards. In 2013, Audric’s community and volunteer work saw him winning the inaugural National Young Leader Award given out by the Halogen Foundation Singapore to honour exceptional young leaders who have contributed actively to the community. His time in ITE also ignited his fire for karate, a sport he first picked up as a nine-year-old after an encounter with his coach and mentor David Thong. While he had previously trained and won gold medals for his school team, Audric decided to take the sport more seriously, eventually earning a spot in the national team. While Audric could not fulfil his goal of competing in the 2015 SEA Games, he is looking to qualify for the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.