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| Rosalind Pang will be competing in the girls' 13-15 age group for the last time this year. |
PETALING JAYA: The absence of national swimmers should pave the way for new stars to emerge from the National Schools (MSSM) swimming championships, which start at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre in Shah Alam on Sunday.
A total of 236 swimmers will compete in the five-day meet, with Penang sending the largest squad of 36.
Hosts Selangor, with 35 swimmers in the fray, should make a big splash this year as they’ve set their sights on making an impact at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak in July.
Among the Selangor swimmers tipped to shine this year are Jordan Yip in boys’ 16-18 age category and Rosalind Pang, who will be competing in the girls’ 13-15 age group for the last time.
Selangor can also count on breaststroke specialist Ng Yi Hao, who will be making his final MMSM outing. Yi Hao was named best overall swimmer in the boys’ category in the MSSM meet last year, thanks to his two meet records in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events of the 16-18 age category.
But Selangor can expect stiff competition from Sarawak, who will only be fielding 20 swimmers.
Tan Tyng is in line for two gold medals for Sarawak in the girls’ 16-18 age category in 50m butterfly and 200m freestyle.
Last year, Selangor reigned supreme in aquatics with a 44-25-21 medal haul, while Sarawak (24-16-18) were second and Kuala Lumpur (11-22-14) third.
