Singapore's man of the hour Joseph Schooling will have his National Service (NS) enlistment date deferred til 2020, most probably so that he can pursue more Gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

This news was shared by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on his Facebook page on Aug 15, in his post Minister Ng said:

"As he fulfils all the necessary conditions, I am happy to announce that the Armed Forces Council has today approved Joseph Schooling’s appeal for his deferment to be extended and for his NS enlistment to be after the 2020 Olympics.

Joseph can now set his sights on 2020 to defend his Olympic title and win more national glory for Singapore. Let us all wish him many more achievements and success!"

Here's the full post:

There have been calls on social media for Schooling to be exempted for NS or at least deferment over the weekend after Schooling won Olympic Gold for the 100m butterfly event. Currently, South Korea offers exemption from military service for athletes who win Olympic medals.

Top photo from Ng Eng Hen Facebook

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