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The President of Singapore, Halimah Yacob has urged Singaporeans to be kind to the nation's athletes.

This was after swimmer Joseph Schooling faced snide remarks for failing to qualify for two swimming semi-final events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

In a Facebook post on July 30, Halimah cited instances such as Naomi Osaka's defeat at the Tokyo Olympics and England losing to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship match, where the athletes faced criticisms after failing to live up to public expectations.

She also mentioned Schooling who faced hurtful comments after his performance at the Games.

That said, Halimah also recognised that not all Singaporeans are the same and thanked those who continued to encourage athletes and appreciate that they did their best at the Olympics.

The president also reminded Singaporeans that our athletes are competing with some of the world's best.

"The least that we can do is to appreciate their effort and continue to encourage and support them. I’m glad that there are still many Singaporeans who do just that, and I thank them," she said.

"We talk incessantly about building a gracious, compassionate and caring society because we believe that a society thrives not just on economic growth alone. It’s easy to articulate these values, but a lot more difficult to practise it. We will be tested ever so often, like in this instance."

Here's her post in full:

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Top image via SNOC/Facebook