SINGAPORE — Singaporean gymnast Amanda Yap has made history by becoming the first from her country to qualify for a final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta.

The 15-year-old, who scored 13.300 on the balance beam to place seventh in the qualifiers on October 20, achieved the feat a day before before sitting for her O-level examinations in Singapore, The Straits Times reported.

Amanda, a student at Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary), flew home after competing to sit for her mathematics Paper 1, and is set to travel to Jakarta for the championships final this weekend.

“It was something that was very unexpected. It’s very overwhelming, I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet,” she said, describing the achievement as a dream come true.

Her qualification puts her among a world-class field that includes Olympic and world championship medallists such as China’s Zhang Qingying and Brazil’s Flavia Saraiva.

Singapore Gymnastics performance director Berfin Serdil Ors hailed Amanda’s breakthrough as a “powerful message” to young athletes that anything is possible.