Commonwealth Games / Swimming: Swimmers Return With Loads Of Experience

ONE final appearance, five national records and a qualifier for the World Championships is how the Commonwealth Games statistics read for the national swimming squad.

There were no medals but for national coach Paul Birmingham, New Delhi can be deemed a success considering the difficulties the squad faced throughout the competition. "I admit that I expected faster times from certain swimmers but I have to say that this was easily the toughest competition many of them have experienced," said Birmingham yesterday.

He was not only talking about the world class opposition that Australia, England and South Africa offered but also the challenge the swimmers faced with the schedule and health.

"It was 16-hour days throughout the competition as we had to get up at 5am and travel two hours to the venue and we had to repeat this in the evenings and this took a toll on the swimmers. "There were also health issues as some had the flu while others went down with food poisoning. This was experienced by almost all the swimming teams and I can confidently say that for the others, this was also a tough meet."

But there was a silver lining and Birmingham said the five national records were satisfying considering the challenge the swimmers faced. "Chui Lai Kwan also qualified for the World Championships and that was a job well done." Lai Kwan also improved the national 50m freestyle record to 26.03s and was the only Malaysian to make an individual final.

The others who set new national marks were Christina Loh in the women's 50m breaststroke (33.39), Chan Kah Yan (50m backstroke -- 30.19), Yap See Tuan (men's 50m breaststroke -- 29.78) and Ian James Barr (200m IM -- 2:07.22). One swimmer who didn't enjoy the New Delhi experience was Daniel Bego and Birmingham said this was expected considering that he only had 12 weeks of training coming into the Games. "Many have questioned why Daniel took six months off (to concentrate on his studies) but this is a break he needed. We have to remember that he has been training non-stop for years and he simply needed a break.

"We want him for the London Olympics in 2012 and he will need six months of hardwork to get back his form." Hardwork is also something Birmingham expects from those who didn't do as well as expected. "The swimmers (who didn't perform) have been told and it is now up to them to start working, especially if they are serious about their careers." It will basically be the same squad for the Asian Games and Birmingham admitted that medals will be out of reach. "Japan and China are going to dominate the top four positions in most of the events and what I can hope for from my swimmers are new national records."