World Cup referee Shamsul Maidin inspires students

An inspiring article I got from Yahoo Singapore, Inspiring, especially the last sentence. Enjoy reading!

Shamsul Maidin made history when he became the first ever Singaporean to officiate four World Cup soccer matches.

Singapore's only referee at the 2006 World Cup Finals received special mention at PM Lee's National Day Rally on Sunday.

Mr Shamsul was widely acknowledged as the best referee of the tournament by fans around the world, a point highlighted by the Prime Minister.

"I didn't expect to be mentioned in such a big occasion. I'm really grateful," said Mr Shamsul.

"He (PM Lee) gave us words of encouragement and I felt that is something very personalized. After the National Day Rally, he came to speak to all of us and said that we should try to do better things and achieve higher levels," added Mr Shamsul.

The referee was at Montfort Junior School on Monday to meet the young soccer fans.

Two of Mr Shamsul's sons, who attend Montfort Junior School, say they are extremely proud of their father.

So is it going to be a case of 'like father, like son'?

"No, because it's very tough and have to do a lot of training. When I grow up, I want to be an artist instead of a referee," said one of Mr Shamsul's sons.

"No, it's very tiring," said the other son.

"If they don't like to become referees, I can't stop them. But as long as they excel in other sports, it's fine for me," said Mr Shamsul.

Mr Shamsul will be going to Saudi Arabia next month for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

He has one key message for the kids: Dreams do come true