Eat carbs and protein to be 'Xiu-per': Yip Pin Xiu, Sport News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

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Eat carbs and protein to be 'Xiu-per': Yip Pin Xiu

If she were not Singapore's most successful Paralympic swimmer, Yip Pin Xiu might well be a gymnast, performing graceful loops on the ice as a figure skater, or even dabbling in mixed martial arts.

If she could be any Pokemon character, the para-swimmer would be Eevee since it is both cute and powerful when evolved.

The 24-year-old revealed all that and more when she spent an hour in a Twitter "takeover" yesterday, taking questions sent by readers in a live Q&A session under the #STaskPX hashtag. It became one of Twitter's top trending topics.

Answering the questions from Rio where the Paralympics are concluding, Yip - she set two world records and won two golds at the Games - cracked jokes but also offered motivational advice.

Asked what she eats to be so "Xiu-per" - playing on the pronunciation of a part of her name - Yip replied: "Sometimes I drink soup, which is soup-er. Plenty of carbs and protein, less fats! #dieticianspet"

She was also asked to offer advice for Singapore's young swimmers. She said: "Just do it if you want to do it! Put in 100 per cent. Haters may say it's not worth it or a waste of time, but nobody can tell you that as long as you dream big!
 

Many readers, instead of asking questions, simply tweeted well wishes and thanked Yip for flying Singapore's flag high.

Yesterday's Q&A session follows a similar one done by Yip's fellow swimmer Theresa Goh last Thursday.

Yip will be returning with the main contingent early on Wednesday morning. Their SQ67 flight is scheduled to touch down at Changi Airport at 5.35am.

The swimmer, who also has a gold and a silver from the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, plans to make chicken rice her first meal after returning, although it might be a toss-up between that and laksa, which she has been craving while in Rio.

She signed off on Twitter: "Thank you all for spending an hour with me! I really had fun and can't wait to return to Singapore on the 21st! #hometruly"

Tweets about #STaskPX from:@stcom

Sent from my iPhone