Sam Tan (archer)
Samantha Tan Pek Hoon was a Singaporean archer. Previously working with the Housing and Development Board as a stenographer, she took up the sport in late 1974. She went on to compete at the 1977 SEA Games, where she won five silver medals in archery; she was dubbed the "Silver Lady" for her performance. Tan went on to participate at the 1978 Asian Games and the 1979 SEA Games, but faced a one-year ban in 1979 from the Archery Association of Singapore for her frequent unpunctuality. Following this, she announced her retirement from archery, but was later convinced by AAS president Bill Wee to return to the sport in March 1983.
Tan then competed at the 1983 SEA Games, where she won two golds and a bronze, becoming the first Singaporean archer to win a gold at the SEA Games. She also participated at the 1983 World Archery Championships in Los Angeles, United States, and at the 1984 International Invitational Friendly Shoot in Guangxi, China. However, in 1985, she was given a two-year ban from the AAS for her misconduct during the trip to China. Tan subsequently retired from the sport, and she died in 1992 from cancer. She has since been described as "the country's most-medaled SEA Games archer" by Sport Singapore.
Early life
Tan was born in 1948 in the Colony of Singapore. Little is known about her early life, except that she worked as a stenographer with the Housing and Development Board prior to taking up archery.Archery career
In late 1974, Tan took up archery on the suggestion of Archery Association of Singapore secretary Steven Tan, after being in a self-described "lost" and "lonely" part of her life. Steven brought her to the archery club at YMCA and had her practice archery; she soon developed an interest in the sport. In March 1975, Tan participated in her first competition in Bangkok, Thailand, where she won a bronze medal. In 1977, Tan was among those selected by the AAS to train at the National University of Singapore's archery range ahead of the 1977 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, along with partaking in a trial to identify the archers that would be selected. During this period of training, the AAS was invited to play friendly matches in Indonesia, which they accepted. Tan was a part of the delegation that went to Jakarta, Indonesia.In October 1977, the AAS held their trials to determine their SEA Games delegation. Tan was successful in the trials, and was recommended to the Singapore National Olympic Council, alongside four male archers and three female archers. At the 1977 SEA Games, she went on to win five silvers in the women's individual, women's 60m, women's 50m, women's 30m, and women's team archery events. Tan additionally broke the national record for women's individual by attaining a score of 1,167, beating Laura de Rozario's 1,082. She was popularly known as the "Silver Lady" for her performance, and was awarded the Meritorious Award by the SNOC.
Tan then qualified for the Singapore delegation to the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. She was predicted by Godfrey Robert of The Straits Times to win a bronze, but she was unsuccessful in attaining any medals. New Nation
She stated of the ban to Her World that "I still have not decided whether to appeal – It is like admitting you are wrong – or to drop archery altogether." In January 1980, Tan announced her retirement from archery, mainly due to the ban. In March 1980, it was reported that she was teaching archery. Tan also said to New Nation that she " competitive archery terribly" but was unsure if she would return to the sport after the ban. She was eventually convinced to return to archery in March 1983 by AAS president Bill Wee. She subsequently competed at the 1983 SEA Games held in Singapore, where she managed to win two golds and one silver, becoming the first Singaporean to win a gold medal in archery at the SEA Games. Tan stated of her gold win that "At last we can hear the "Majulah Singapura" at the archery range."
In October 1983, Tan participated at the 1983 World Archery Championships in Los Angeles, United States. In April 1984, she was a part of the Singapore delegation sent to participate in the International Invitational Friendly Shoot in Guangxi, China. It also saw athletes from Russia, Poland, Italy, Mongolia, North Korea, Thailand, and China participating. She also received the Meritorious Award by the SNOC in 1984 for her performance at the 1983 SEA Games.
In January 1985, it was reported by the Singapore Monitor that Tan could face another ban from the AAS for alleged misconduct after arriving at the airport for the International Invitational Friendly Shoot. Wee stated that she had "an ugly scene on arrival" and did not receive a reply when asked about her behaviour. Speaking to the Singapore Monitor, Tan dismissed claims of misconduct or alcohol consumption. She further stated that the team manager similarly behaved questionably and should be investigated as well. In May, a nine-member committee of the AAS announced their decision to ban Tan for two years for misconduct. Wee stated that the committee had originally planned for a three-year ban, but decided on two years instead. Tan stated that she would not appeal. She subsequently retired following this ban.