Whoa, Hoe Yean!

KUALA LUMPUR: Teenager Khiew Hoe Yean (pic) underlined his huge potential by breaking an eight-year meet record on the first day of the National Schools (MSSM) swimming championships at the Tuanku Zara Aquatic Centre in Ipoh.

The 16-year-old clocked 58.53 to win the boys’ group 1 (16-18) 100m backstroke event for Kuala Lumpur.

Hoe Yean cracked the previous meet record of 59.02 held by former national swimmer Ian James Barr since 2011.

Sarawak’s Hii Puong Wei settled for silver with 1:00.08 ahead of Kuala Lumpur’s Koh Teck Chen, who finished in 1:01.24.

Hoe Yean made a wonderful debut at the Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Ipoh last year, bagging two golds in the 100m and 200m backstroke. He also claimed a silver in the 50m backstroke. Yesterday, Hoe Yean also romped to a second gold for KL in the 200m freestyle in 1:55.99, leaving Puong Wei to settle for silver in 1:58.17.

Hoe Yean, who has been based at the national training set-up in Bukit Jalil this year, was delighted to deliver two golds for KL.

“I didn’t expect to break Ian’s record. My focus was just to improve in every competition. It’s good to meet the expectations of my team,” said Hoe Yean.

“I’m happy to swim faster than what I did at the Sukma in the 100m backstroke. I clocked 58.86 in Sukma six months ago and I’m happy to improve on my personal best,” added Hoe Yean, who still has seven more events to go over the next four days.

Two more meet records sank in the pool as well. Penang’s Chris Chew smashed the previous meet record of 26.84 set by Sarawak’s Nee Gui Ping in 2015 by winning the boys’ 13-15 50m butterfly event in 26.46.

Sabah’s Loo Yie Bing clocked a new meet record by winning the girls’ 7-12 50m butterfly in 30.56, improving on the previous mark of 30.94 set by Selangor’s Elise Wong in 2016.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2019/03/25/whoa-hoe-yean/#vUC48VoEjqPLtyP1.99

(Swimming) A high five for swimmer Low at MSSM championships

Another record: Malacca’s Low Zheng Yong on his way to win the boys’ Under-15 individual medley gold at the MSSM Swimming Championships yesterday.

Another record: Malacca’s Low Zheng Yong on his way to win the boys’ Under-15 individual medley gold at the MSSM Swimming Championships yesterday.

MALACCA: Low Zheng Yong emerged as the star performer again for hosts Malacca as Selangor inched closer to a successful defence of their overall title in the MSSM (national schools) Swimming Championships.

The 14-year-old added another meet record to his name when he won the boys’ Under-15 200m individual medley gold at the Hang Jebat Aquatic Centre yesterday.

Zheng Yong clocked 2:14.73 to equal Selangor’s Sebastian Soon’s record set in last year’s championships.

It was Zheng Yong’s fifth gold and his second meet record, having smashed Sarawakian Daniel Bego’s 13-year-old 100m butterfly mark on Monday.

Zheng Yong, a student at SMJK Yok Bin, had earlier won the 50m and 100m butterfly as well as the 50m and 100m breaststroke.

It was, however, not a good day for Selangor’s Rosalind Pang as she failed to add to her four-gold tally in the girls’ Under-18 category. She could only manage three silvers yesterday.

The 16-year-old lost to Penang’s Elynn Tan in the 50m backstroke and 100m freestyle and team-mate Nadia Adrianna Redza in the 200m individual medley. 

Selangor still lead the overall standings with a 23-18-14 haul after three days of competition.

Penang are a distant second on 10-10-7 followed by Kuala Lumpur (9-14-16) and Malacca (9-4-2).

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2017/03/22/a-high-five-for-swimmer-low-at-mssm-championships/

Selangor’s Rosalind Makes A Splash With Three Golds

MALACCA: Rosalind Pang splashed to three golds to give defending champions Selangor a superb start at the MSSM (national schools) Swimming Championships here.

The 16-year-old held off Johor’s Ong Yong Qi in the last lap to win the girls’ 800m freestyle Open in 9:44.04 at the Hang Jebat Aquatic Centre yesterday.

Yong Qi clocked 9:45.86 for the silver ahead of Kuala Lumpur’s Geogene Wee who finished in 9:54.95.

Rosalind still had enough energy to clinch her second gold in the Under-18 100m backstroke. She came out tops in 1:08.39 ahead of Kuala Lumpur’s Karla Lim (1:09.74) and Nurlatifa Zahra (1:12.28).

Rosalind returned to the pool shortly after to take her third gold in the Under-18 200m freestyle. She clocked 2:14.85. Penang’s Elynn Tan secured the silver with a time of 2:16.10 while Sabahan Lo Meng Sum clocked 2:16.69 for bronze.

“I have six more individual events, so I hope to maintain my form. This is my first year in the 16-18 age-group and I’m focusing more on the longer distance races,” said Rosalind, who bagged eight golds for Selangor in the Under-15 category last year.

Hosts Malacca also rejoiced with four golds on the opening day.

Low Zheng Yong contributed two golds, winning the 50m butterfly (27.04) and 50m breaststroke (31.81) in the boys’ Under-15 category.

The others came from R. Parvin in the boys’ Under-18 50m butterfly (26.99) and Goh Chia Tong in the girls’ Under-15 100m backstroke (1:09.20).

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2017/03/20/selangors-rosalind-makes-a-splash-with-three-golds/#WfWpiMrqIy3YObWk.99

Record Breakers At Swim Meet

Recipients of the best swimmer awards taking a group photo with their coach Leong (bottom centre).

KUCHING: The MSSWPL (Majlis Sukan Sekolah Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan) Swimming Competition held from Feb 9 to 11 at Labuan International School (LIS) concluded with several record-breaking victories.

A significant total of 37 new records were achieved by the swimmers this year.

Records breaker Bryan Chin Bao Yang (U18 Boys Category) contributed nine gold medals to SM St Anthony and broke eight records, among them a nine-year-old 35.94 seconds record held by Mohd Aedy Junaidi in 2008.

Chin emerged champion with with 34.53 seconds in 50 metre backstroke.

He also broke the record in 200m freestyle with 2:14.35s.

Besides, Tan Xue Wen (U18 Girls Category) from LIS broke seven records.

She set the new records for 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke with 31.44s and 1.27.75s respectively.

The 45 LIS swimmers celebrating their win.

This previous records were held by Michele Ho Tse Yan at 34.59s and 1:37.65 in 2007.

In U15 Boys category, Tan Jie Sheng from LIS broke six records, among them 50m butterfly with 32.06s and 100m freestyle with 1:05.83.

Tan and sibling Tan Xue Wen won nine gold medals each for LIS swimming team.

Swimming head coach Clement David Leong from LIS was evidently proud of his swimmers’ achievement.

“Our swimmers have shown significant improvement after a year of training,” he said, adding that LIS was still the powerhouse for secondary school category with improvement in medal tally.

“As for primary school category, we are still in the stage of developing new swimmers. We are on the right track because we have more medal hauls compared to last year,” he said.

Another pair of siblings broke 12 records in the Girls categories.

Lee Wei Wen (U12 Girls) broke five records and contributed eight gold medals for SKK St Anne.

She broke the 11-year-old record of Deborah Anne Withers in 50m butterfly with 35.47s (old record 41.98s) and 100m freestyle with 1:12.28 (2006 record 1:20.75).

Her sister, Lee Wei Len (U15 Girls) set seven new records and individually contributed nine gold medals to SM St Anne.

She broke Tan Xue Wen’s record last year in 200m freestyle with 2:37.34 and Cheong Jia Wen’s record in 100m freestyle with 1:09.97.

In Under 8 Boys category, Lucas Low Ying Ji from LIS broke two records and bagged two gold and one silver medals.

In 50m freestyle, he used 44.22s to beat the previous record of 1:12.20 by Syahmi bin Sabdi in 2016.

Nursyaziellah Tsen Sey Jing from SJKC Chi Wen also broke two records and contributed three gold medals to her school.

She broke her own record in 50m freestyle.

On the other hand, 15-year-old Darren Chua from LIS also obtained his first diving gold medal in the 1m springboard diving event.

SJKC Chi Wen emerged champion in primary school level by bagging 10 gold Medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals, followed by SK St Anne with eight gold medals and LIS with four gold medals, 10 silver medals and eight bronze medals.

In the secondary school category, LIS bagged 26 gold, 19 silver and 15 bronze to be the overall champion followed by SM St Anthony with nine gold and one bronze medal. SM St Anne took home nine gold medals.

The best swimmers of the competition were Bryan Chin Bao Yang and Tan Xue Wen for U18 category, Tan Jie Sheng and Lee Wei Len for U15 category as well as Stephen James Chua and Lee Wei Wen for U12 category.

The swimmers are potentially representing Labuan to compete in MSSM Malacca from March 19 to 24.

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/scoreboard/2017/02/17/record-breakers-at-swim-meet-a-total-of-37-new-records-achieved-this-year-at-labuan-competition/#8EisSt5OB45BUKaR.99

Yip Yip Hooray For Jordan As He Makes It 12 In MSSM

Selangor’s swimmer Jordan Yip (second from left) posing with his teammates after winning the 400m freestyle event at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre. – S.S KANESAN/The Star

SHAH ALAM: It’s a dazzling dozen for Jordan Yip.

The Selangor swimmer has won a stunning 12 out of the 15 events he took part in the boys’ 16-18 age category at the National Schools Sports Council (MSSM) swimming championships at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre.

With 10 gold medals already in the bag, he went into Thursday’s final day of the swimming championships hoping to win three more.

He won two.

First, he won the 200m butterfly in 2:13.85, beating team-mate Ooi Joo Vern (2:15.48) and Sabah’s Wong Venn Chieh (2:15.76).

Then, he anchored the Selangor quartet to a victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Jordan, Joo Vern, Khoo Yee Shen and Tan Tsien Ee posted 3:39.47 – about a second off the championship mark set by another Selangor quartet in 2014.

He failed to make it three golds out of three when he could only finish sixth in the 400m freestyle.

Still, his 12-gold achievement was enough for him to be named the best overall swimmer in his age group.

Jordan had earlier won golds in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle; 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke; 100m butterfly; 200m and 400m individual medley; and 4x100m medley.

He also bagged two silvers in the 50m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.

“There were some good and some not-so-good performances from me over the past five days, but I  really could not have asked for a better way to mark my last MSSM appearance with 12 gold medals,” said Jordan.

“Now, I hope to do well in Sukma (Malaysian Games in Sarawak in July).

“I’m giving myself another year or two to make the national team. Then, from there, I hope to kick start my Tokyo 2020 dream. I’m also looking to further my studies in the United States, where I hope to enhance my swimming career.

“I may be versatile ... but I hope to work harder to become the country’s top backstroke and individual medley specialist in the future.”

Selangor, who were confirmed as overall champions on Wednesday, ended their campaign with an astonishing haul of 63 golds, 35 silvers and 16 bronzes. Kuala Lumpur (17-20-22) were second and Malacca (7-9-12) third.

Sabah’s Janetty Fabian was named the best overall female swimmer for setting a new record of 33.95 en route to winning the Under-12 50m backstroke event. Her time broke fellow Sabahan Leung Chii Lin’s 13-year-old mark of 34.12.

Selangor’s Sebastian Soon was named the best male swimmer for breaking Johor swimmer Tia’a Faang Der’s four-year-old record in the Under-15 200m individual medley event. Sebastian clocked 2:14.73 to erase the old mark of 2:14.94.

Only six meet records were set in the five-day meet compared to nine last year.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/03/17/jordan-bags-two-more-to-make-it-amazing-dozen/

Swimmer Welson Qualifies For Olympics In Style

Welsom Sim first Malaysian swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games under category A.

PETALING JAYA: Welson Sim has become the first Malaysian swimmer to have qualified for the Olympic Games under category A.

He made the historic breakthrough in the men’s 400m freestyle at the Singapore national age-group swimming championships at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Welson also smashed his own national record of 3:52.83, set at the World Cup meet in Doha last November, en route to winning the final in 3:50.33 on Thursday

Taiwan’s An Ting-yao (3:55.45) took silver and Singapore’s Yeo Kai Quan (4:02.18) the bronze.

The 18-year-old Welson thus becomes the first Malaysian swimmer to dip under the Olympic A time of 3:50.40.

He had twice beaten the B qualifying time at the World Cup meets last year.

But those times did not guarantee him a place at the Olympics since the new qualifying system came into effect at the 2012 Olympics in London.

His latest effort would have earned him the bronze at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014 behind the two giants of world swimming – China’s Sun Yang and South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan.

National swimming coach Paul Birmingham, who broke the news, said he was not surprised with Welson’s outstanding achievement.

“I’m really happy with his result. His training over the last six months showed that he could do it.

“It’s just taken him more race practices to get the pacing better.

“I’m thankful to the National Sports Council (NSC) for giving us the funding to race,” he said.

Besides swimming, Malaysia also have representatives in archery, track cycling, diving, shooting and sailing for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/03/17/swimmer-welson-stands-tall-after-winning-olympic-games-ticket/

Tenacious Jordan Swims To 10 Golds In MSSM Meet

SHAH ALAM: It’s 10 golds – and counting – for Selangor swimmer Jordan Yip at the National Schools Sports Council (MSSM).

The 17-year-old has bagged three more gold medals to take his tally to an awesome 10.

He was simply unstoppable at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre here on Wednesday.

First, he romped home in the 50m freestyle in 24.71. Then, just like his idol Kosuke Hagino of Japan, Jordan showed his versatility by winning the 400m Open individual medley (IM) in record fashion – clocking 4:43.51 to erase the 4:44.73 set by Tia’a Faang Der of Johor in 2013.

Hagino won the 400m IM bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012 and is one of only two Asians to have been named Swimmer of the Year.

Jordan’s third gold came when he swam the butterfly leg to help his Selangor team-mates Khoo Yee Shen, Ng Yi Hao and Ooi Joo Vern triumph in the 4x100m medley in 4:05.84.

Jordan had earlier won golds in the 100m and 200m freestyle; 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke; 100m butterfly; and 200m individual medley.

He also claimed a silver on Wednesday – clocking 2:27.26 to finish behind team-mate Yo Hao (2:26.00) in the 200m breaststroke.

It was his second silver in the meet, having finished second in the 50m butterfly on Sunday.

But he’s not done yet.

He has three more races on Thursday – 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 4x100m freestyle relay.

“I’ve won medals in all the events I entered for ... I will try to win three more on the final day tomorrow,” he said.

“I’m feeling good ... I’m happy to have clocked a personal best in the 400m individual medley.

“It was unexpected ... to break Faang Der’s meet record shows I’m on the right track.”

Jordan will switch his focus to the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching where he hopes to make a golden debut in the 200m and 400m individual medley events.

The Selangor quartet of Yasmin Batrisyia, Lim Shun Qi, Elise Wong and Amanda Sofea were the other record breakers on Wednesday.

They clocked 2:14.70 en route to winning the girls’ 12 and under 4x50m medley relay and erase the previous mark of 2:15.76, which they set last year.

Selangor are confirmed as the overall champions for aquatics with one day to go with a haul of 47-31-15. Kuala Lumpur (13-15-19) are second and Malacca (5-9-12) third.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/03/16/jordan-yip-swims-with-ten-gold-medals-in-mssm/

Listen To Your Grandmother's Advice And You'll Do Well!



Janetty (left) broke the girls’ 12 and under 50m backstroke record while Sebastian (right) smashed the boys’ 13-15 200m backstroke record. – FAIHAN GHANI / The Star

SHAH ALAM: Sabah’s Janetty Fabian is proof that listening to your grandmother’s advice is worthwhile.

Janetty heeded her granny Lucy Binijian’s advice and followed in the footsteps of her aunt Jossie Fabian, who is a state swimmer.

And now Janetty is beginning to make a splash!

The 12-year-old Kadazan girl smashed the 13-year-old record of 34.12, set by former SEA Games gold medallist Leung Chii Lin, on her way to winning the girls’ 12 and under 50m backstroke in the National Schools Sports Council (MSSM) swimming championships on Tuesday.

Janetty, who was born in Penampang, is happy to have completed her collection of medals in only her second MSSM outing.

“I represented Sabah last year but did not win any medals. I’m happy to get the gold as I got two silvers (50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly) and two bronzes (100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke) from the first two days of competition.

“It’s a bonus to break Chii Lin’s record. She’s also from Sabah and she swam at the Olympics before. I hope to be like her one day,” said Janetty.

She hopes to grab a second gold for Sabah in the 50m freestyle at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre on Wednesday.

Selangor’s Sebastian Soon was the other record-breaker on Tuesday.

The 15-year-old clocked 2:14.73 in the boys’ 13-15 200m individual medley to dip under Johor swimmer Tia’a Faang Der’s record of 2:14.94 set in 2012.

Sebastian also won the 50m backstroke gold in 30.40, taking his gold medal tally to four after coming out tops in the 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle on Sunday.

“I didn’t expect to swim so fast today. My previous personal best was 2:16,” he said.

Selangor’s Jordan Yip bagged three more events – in the 50m backstroke, 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley – in the boys’ 16-18 age group to take his tally to seven gold medals so far.

Hosts Selangor have captured 35 gold medals (in swimming and diving) with two days of competition to go.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/03/15/janetty-listens-to-grandmother-advice-paid-well/

Swimmer Jordan Starts Believing Again After Breakthrough At Asean School Meet



Jordan Yip at the 2016 MSSM meet at Shah Alam Aquatic Centre.


SHAH ALAM: Selangor teenager Jordan Yip nearly gave up swimming after a string of uninspiring results.

But an impressive outing at the Asean School Games in Brunei late last year, where he bagged two golds and two silvers, made him realise that he still had much to offer.

And he proved it again by pulling off his second double in as many days in the National Schools (MSSM) swimming championships at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre.

The 17-year-old clocked 2:19.11 to beat team-mate Ooi Joo Vern (2:20.00) to the 200m backstroke title in the boys' 16-18 age group.

He then posted 57.18 to hold off Joo Vern again (59.05) in the 100m butterfly race to take his tally to four golds – with three days of competition to go.

Jordan had won the 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle gold medals on Sunday.

“I’m feeling good in the pool. I lacked training and motivation last year and the results weren’t good. But the Asean School Games gave me the confidence that I could still swim well. I think I’m slowly getting back to form,” said Jordan, who started swimming when he was eight.

Jordan intends to be good in all the four strokes, just like his favourite swimmer Kosuke Hagino of Japan. Hagino is a former World Swimmer of the Year winner and bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics.

Jordan will get a chance to do just that when he competes in the 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 200m individual medley on Tuesday.

Hosts Selangor raked in eight more gold medals on Monday to take their tally to 22 from 42 events so far.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/03/14/jordan-starts-believing-again-after-asean-meet/

A Perfect Debut For Elise At MSSM Swim Meet



Elise won two gold medals and broke a meet record in the MSSM swimming championships at Shah Alam Aquatic Centre. - AZMAN GHANI / The Star

SHAH ALAM: Elise Wong splashed to a perfect debut in the MSSM swimming championships with two gold medals and a meet record at the Shah Alam Aquatic Centre.

The 12-year-old student of Sri Kuala Lumpur posted 30.94 to smash the 10-year-old record of 31.09 held by former national swimmer Hii Siew Siew in the girls’ 12 and under 50m butterfly.

Team-mate Lim Shun Qi clocked 31.01 to also dip under Siew Siew’s record but settled for silver while bronze went to Kuala Lumpur’s Ng Zi Syuen, who posted 32.57.

The lanky Elise went on to claim her second gold medal for Selangor after finishing the 200m freestyle in 2:22.69.

Elise turned out to be the only record breaker on the opening day.

“It’s not my fastest time as I have a personal best of 30.30. But I fell pretty good. The competitors here are of the same standard,” said Elise, who looks up to five-time world champion Hosszu Katinka, who is known as Hungary’s “Iron Lady” in the pool.

“She is good and can swim in different events. She always finishes in the top three in the events she enters. I like the way she swims the butterfly,” said Elise, who aspires to qualify for the Asian Games in the future.

Sebastian Soon won the gold medals in boys' 16-18 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle for Selangor. - AZMAN GHANI / The Star

Hosts Selangor enjoyed a roaring day at the pool as they bagged 11 out of the 25 gold medals at stake.

Other double winners for Selangor were Darren Lew (boys’ 12 and under 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle), Sebastian Soon (boys’ 13-15 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle), Jordan Yip (boys’ 16-18 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle) and Rosalind Pang (girls’ Open 800m freestyle and 13-15 200m freestyle).

Tan Tyng also bagged a double for Sarawak in the girls’ 16-18 50m breaststroke and 200m freestyle.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/03/13/perfect-debut-for-elise-as-mssm-swim-meet/

Selangor Expected To Swim Away With Medals At MSSM

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.

Swimmers Welson And Jinq En Medal In First Euro Foray

National swimmers Phee Jinq En (left) and Welson Sim broke national records in the FINA Swimming World Cup meet in Dubai last year.

SINGAPORE: Youngsters Welson Sim and Phee Jinq En made a big splash for Malaysia in their first European outing in the Luxembourg Euro Meet.

18-year-old Welson clocked an impressive 1:48.46 to take a silver medal in the men's 200m freestyle A final on Saturday night.

Welson's time was not far from his national record of 1:48.11 set at the FINA Swimming World Cup leg in Dubai last November.

Serbian Velimir Stjepanovic, the 400m freestyle bronze medallist at last year's world championships in Kazan, claimed the gold medal in 1:46.10. Spaniard Martin Victor took bronze in 1:49.61.

Sarawak-born Welson was also second fastest with 1:49.45 in the morning heats.

17-year-old Jinq En was not to be outdone as she swam to a bronze in the women's 50m breaststroke A final.

Jinq En finished the sprint race in 32.11 behind Dutch swimmer Moniek Nijhuis, who clocked 31.70 for the silver medal. Martina Carraro of Italy took the gold in 31.28.

Welson and Jinq En stamped their marks with gold medals at the Singapore SEA Games last year and proved again they are the country's hopes for the future.

Nationalcoach Paul Birmingham said: "Welson did a very good time and bodes well for his chances to make the A cut for the Rio Olympica in August. He is getting close to the A time for the 200m freestyle (1:47.97).

"Welson looked great for the first 150m. He just needs more practice for his pacing."

"Jing En snagged a medal against some high quality opposition," added Birmingham.

Welson is already inside the Rio Olympic B qualifying time of 1:51.75.

No Malaysian swimmer has qualified for the Olympics under the A time since Alex Lim Keng Liat in the men's 100m backstroke at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Two other Malaysians competing in Luxembourg - Khoo Cai Lin was placed 23rd in the women's 200m freestyle while Kevin Yeap was ranked 11th in the men's 1500m freestyle.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/02/01/swimmers-welson-and-jinq-en-medal-in-first-euro-foray/

Last Chance For Jun Hoong To Qualify For Rio Olympics

National diver Cheong Jun Hoong won the bronze medal in the women's 3m springboard at the Asian Games in South Korea last year. - The STAR Filepic

PETALING JAYA: Diver Cheong Jun Hoong can’t imagine herself not being at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.

The 25-year-old has one chance left to get her act right if she wants to compete in her second Games. That will be at the FINA Diving World Cup in Rio – the final Olympic qualifying event - from Feb 19-24.

“It’s a do-or-die mission for me now,” said Jun Hoong, who partnered Mun Yee to win a historic silver at the 2014 World Cup in Shanghai.

“My priority is to qualify for the springboard individual. If I’m fielded in the synchro, I would like to help Malaysia secure an Olympic berth too.

Jun Hoong, who competed in the 2012 London Olympics, is expected to take part in the 3m springboard individual and 10m platform synchro, possibly with veteran Leong Mun Yee.

Jun Hoong could have made it to Rio if she had not missed the World Championships, an Olympic qualifying event, in Russia last July. She was forced to pull out after suffering a heel injury.

“The Olympics is held every four years, so you wouldn’t want to miss the world’s biggest sporting event,”  added Hun Hong.

At the World Cup, there will be 18 spots up for grabs for the individual events and four berths in the synchro disciplines.

To date, Malaysia have secured five individual spots through Ooi Tze Liang (men’s 3m springboard and 10m platform), Wendy Ng Yan Yee (women’s 3m springboard), Nur Dhabitah Sabri (women’s 10m platfom) and Pandelela Rinong (women’s 10m platform).

At the London Olympics, Malaysian divers qualified for seven out of the eight events.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/diving/2016/01/03/last-chance-for-jun-hoong-to-qualify-for-rio-olympics/

Another Day, Another GoldFfor Malaysia In Diving Grand Prix

Malaysian diving pair Cheong Jun Hoong (left) and Nur Dhabitah Sabri in action in the women's 10m platform synchro event at the FINA Diving Grand Prix at Bukit Jalil on Sunday. - M. AZHAR ARIF/ The STAR

KUALA LUMPUR: Looks like Malaysian diving is in sync.

After winning two gold medals on the opening two days of the FINA Diving Grand Prix through untested pairs, national diving head coach Yang Zhuliang put up another scratch pair which yielded yet another gold medal.

This time, it’s Cheong Jun Hoong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri who delivered the goods in the women’s 10m platform synchro at the at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

They had replaced first-choice pair Pandelela Rinong-Leong Mun Yee, and rose to the occasion to chalk up 319.74 points over five dives to beat last week’s Singapore Grand Prix winners Wang Han-Wang Ying (283.38) of China and Ukraine’s Tatsenko Vlada-Krasnoshlyk Ganna (273.33).

Jun Hoong-Dhabitah never looked like losing from the moment they took over the lead after the second dive.

In their fourth attempt, the Malaysian duo wowed the fans with a near-perfect execution of an inward 3½ somersault, with a 3.2 degree of difficulty, to earn 80.64 points en route to a commanding 36-point victory.

Earlier in the morning, Jun Hoong-Dhabitah picked up a silver in the 3m springboard synchro.

They amassed 288.75 points to finish behind China’s Xu Zhihuan-Wu Chunting (304.50).

The 16-year-old Dhabitah was not done yet, though.

Barely half an hour after her platform synchro triumph, she was back in action.

This time she partnered Muhd Syafiq Puteh to win another silver in the mixed 3m springboard synchro.

Her three-medal achievement in one day left the 25-year-old Jun Hoong in awe.

“Three podium finishes in just a day ... (Dhabitah) she’s just brilliant. When I was her age, I had achieved nothing,” said Jun Hoong.

On the opening day, Ahmad Amsyar Azman-Chew Yi Wei took part in the men’s 3m springboard synchro after just one training session and bagged the gold.

On Saturday, Chew Yi Wei-Jun Hoong won the mixed 10m platform synchro gold medal after just one practice session as well.

Malaysia ended their campaign with their best-ever haul of three golds and three silvers.

Amsyar had also contributed a silver in the men’s 3m springboard individual.

*Thumbnail Picture from Utusan Malaysia

RESULTS

MEN

10m platform individual: 1. Wang Anqi (Chn) 471.85, 2. Gao Ang (Chn) 451.70, 3. Espen Valheim (Nor) 396.80.
Selected: 4. Chew Yi Wei 392.25.

WOMEN

3m springboard synchro: 1. Xu Zhihuan-Wu Chunting (Chn) 304.50, 2. Cheong Jun Hoong-Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Mas) 288.75, 3. Anastasiia Nedobiga-Viktoriya Kesar (Ukr) 280.95.

10m platform synchro: 1. Cheong Jun Hoong-Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Mas) 319.74, 2. Wang Hang-Wang Ying (Chn) 283.38, 3. Vlada Tatsenko-Ganna Krasnoshlyk (Ukr) 273.33.

MIXED

3m springboard synchro: 1. Wu Chunting-Li Yanan (Chn) 303.00, 2. Muhd Syafiq Puteh-Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Mas) 287.70, 3. Oleg Kolodiy-Anastasiia Nedobiga (Ukr) 287.28.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Diving/2015/10/25/Another-day-another-gold-for-Malaysia-in-Diving-Grand-Prix/

Another First For Malaysia In Diving Grand Prix

The winning mixed diving pair Chew Yiwei (left) and Cheong Jun Hoong from Malaysia at the Malaysian Grand Prix meet on Saturday. - RICKY LAI/ The STAR

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s another first for Malaysia.

Chew Yi Wei and Cheong Jun Hoong had just one training session, but it was enough for them to bag Malaysia’s first-ever win in the 10m mixed synchro event at the FINA Diving Grand Prix at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Teaming up for the first time in an event that Malaysia never planned on competing, Yi Wei-Jun Hoong rode on the back of two superb dives – the third (76.50 points) and fourth (80.64) - for a winning total of 326.82 points.

They finished ahead of China’s Wang Anqi-Wang Ying (298.92) and Australia’s Brittany O’Brien-Nicholas Jeffree (264.42).

On Friday, Yi Wei had won a gold medal in the men’s 3m springboard synchro with Ahmad Amsyar Azman – also after just one training session.

The 20-year-old Yi Wei is becoming something of a mixed synchro specialist, having been used by coach Yang Zhuliang since the introduction of the event (including the mixed 3m springboard synchro) by FINA last December.

Yi Wei had partnered Loh Zhiayi, who is not involved this week as she’s preparing for the SPM examinations, to bag a silver in the same event at the Puerto Rico Grand Prix in April.

He also won a silver with Traisy Vivien Tukiet in last month’s Asian Diving Cup in Bukit Jalil.

No wonder Yi Wei is over the moon.

“It’s definitely a surprise win. We didn’t even know we were competing... ,” said Yi Wei.

Jun Hoong, the 2014 World Cup silver medallist, was just glad to have made amends for her dismal opening-day performance – finishing fifth in the 10m platform individual.

“I’m relieved to have made up for yesterday... I was disappointed with myself,” she said.

Hopes of seeing rising star Nur Dhabitah Sabri adding a medal to Malaysia’s tally in the 3m springboard individual failed to materialise after she could only manage fifth placing with a 282.70 total.

She was on course for a podium finish after the first two rounds, but poor dives in her third and fourth attempts put paid to her chances of winning.

RESULTS

All finals

Men's 10m platform synchro: 1. Wang Anqi-Gao Ang (Chn) 394.86, 2. Adityo Restu Putra-Andriyan Andriyan (Ina) 308.22.

Women's 3m springboard individual: 1. Wu Chunting (Chn) 329.20, 2. Nedobiga Anastasiia (Ukr) 321.25, 3. Xu Zhihuan (Chn) 307.60.
Selected: 5. Nur Dhabitah Sabri (Mas) 282.70.

Mixed 10m platform synchro: 1. Chew Yi Wei-Cheong Jun Hoong (Mas) 326.82, 2. Wang Ying-Wang Anqi (Chn) 298.92, 3. Brittany O’Brien-Nicholas Jefree (Aus) 264.42.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Diving/2015/10/24/Another-first-for-Malaysia-in-Diving-Grand-Prix/