Armed to wrestle, armed to save lives

He is Singapore's top left-handed arm wrestler.

It's a pretty mean feat, considering that 3rd Sergeant (3SG) Wisely Vance Neo only joined the sport three years ago.

The 21-year-old chanced upon arm wrestling during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, while looking for a way to maintain his strength as gyms were closed during the lockdown.

"Back then, I was into weighted calisthenics and frequented gyms all the time, but then the lockdown took place so I started googling for alternatives to maintain my strength," said 3SG Neo.

He gathered a few friends and gave the sport a shot. After joining an arm wrestling group chat on Telegram, he discovered that they held practice sessions every week.

In August 2020, 3SG Neo and his friends decided to pit their strength against other enthusiasts in one of the sessions, only to lose badly.

"That motivated us to train harder," said 3SG Neo, who officially joined Singapore Armwrestling in January 2021.

Coming in second

Close to a year later, he took part in his first arm wrestling competition, in which he placed second in his weight category (under 78kg) and third nationally for left-handed arm wrestling.

Held in December 2021, this was Singapore's inaugural National Armwrestling Championships.

"It was my first competition and I thought my results were pretty good, but I wanted to achieve more."

3SG Neo went on to compete in several competitions after that. In April 2022, he took part in a competition held in Australia where he placed sixth out of 50 for left-handed arm wrestling.  

Two months later, he joined the Asia Armwrestling Championships 2022 in Malaysia where he won three awards – first place in the left hand Under 21 (U21) Men 78kg category; second place in the left hand Seniors Men 78kg category; and second place in the right hand U21 Men 78kg category.

Bringing arm wrestling into BMT

These competitions came to a halt when 3SG Neo enlisted into Basic Military Training (BMT) on 28 Jun 2022.

That did not stop him from keeping up with his training though. While his fellow recruits were on their phones during free periods, 3SG Neo would lift buckets of water to train his arm strength.

"My fellow bunkmates all thought I was this weird gym rat. It was when someone asked me about it a month later that I told them I was into arm wrestling," recalled 3SG Neo.

His bunk mates then challenged him and 3SG Neo defeated the whole company. After that, they would often have armwrestling challenges among themselves.

"It was quite heart-warming to see that and I would also guide and give them tips so that they would not injure themselves."

Each time he booked out, 3SG Neo would train close to four hours a day on weekends at his home gym.

"It was a challenge to strike a good balance between BMT and arm wrestling because if I trained too much over the weekend and book in, I would be tired the next day. So I had to listen to my body and adjust my training accordingly.

Becoming a more resilient person

When he entered Specialist Cadet School (SCS), 3SG Neo even hosted an arm wrestling competition for his medic specialist course mates in January 2023.

"This was right before our summary exercise and I wanted to do something fun for my platoon, so what better way to do it than showing them my passion?"

He even prepared medals, and his wing commander eventually presented the prizes to the winners.

After graduating from SCS in February, 3SG Neo was posted to the Medical Response Force (MRF) where he went through the 2-week MRF conversion course – one of his most memorable stints in National Service (NS).

He made strong bonds with his fellow course mates, especially during tough times such as outfield training and doing daily 2.4km runs in the MOPP (Mission Oriented Protective Posture) 4 suit.

"MRF has trained me to become more resilient and have an unstoppable mindset that helps me deal with problems more calmly," said the section commander from the 45th platoon in MRF, Headquarters Army Medical Services.

For the uninitiated, the MRF is a high readiness core unit which responds and treats casualties of chemical, biological, radiological and explosive (CBRE) attacks.

Just as he has a passion for arm wrestling, 3SG Neo loves being part of the MRF.

"It's such a niche and specialised unit, and not many people can experience being part of the MRF. I also feel a sense of fulfilment as I teach the next batch of trainees."

Strong arms, stronger mind

Even as he trained with the MRF, 3SG Neo never forgot his first love.

Last October, he took part in the IFA (International Federation of Armwrestling) World Armwrestling Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He clinched second in the Junior U21 Men Left 78kg category; and fourth in the same category for right arm.

This was also where he earned his title as the top left-handed arm wrestler in Singapore.

"There were (participants from) 31 countries who attended and it was crazy to see the size of some people – they're really big and tall with huge hands and biceps," said 3SG Neo as he recalled his first international event.

"I may have gotten another silver but I still felt good about it because I managed to achieve this result despite juggling NS."

He also credited his results to his MRF training.

"Going through the MRF conversion course taught me a lot about resilience and if I wasn't mentally resilient enough to follow my (arm wrestling) training program strictly, I wouldn't have been able to prepare for the competition and would have probably gotten a much different result."

To fly the Singapore flag high

Now that he's gotten his title, 3SG Neo plans to focus on giving his best in the MRF and training the next batch of trainees.

Having been in the MRF for almost a year, he noted that his unit and platoon mates are something he will miss when he completes his NS.

"MRF has a brotherly culture and it's deeply ingrained in us," said 3SG Neo.

"I'll miss those moments of deploying together, working as one platoon and overcoming challenges together. It'll all be precious memories that we'll cherish and look back on."

For arm wrestling, his goal is to aim for a podium finish at the upcoming IFA World Armwrestling Championships 2024 in Athens, Greece.

"I'll be in the Senior category next year and no longer in the U21 Youth division," said 3SG Neo.

"It'll be great if I can hold the national flag up once again in a foreign land."