National table tennis player Izaac Quek had a year to remember in 2023, when he made a name for himself on the international stage.

The 17-year-old won the men’s singles, doubles and team golds at the Cambodia SEA Games, broke into the top 100 in the world rankings, and recorded upsets over a list of higher-ranked players that included world No. 21 Frenchman Alexis Lebrun, Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal Achanta, and Sweden’s men’s doubles world champion Mattias Falck.