Swimmers Finish Third In Medal Haul

Welson Sim (centre) poses with Yeap Zheng Yang of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur’s Wong Jun Bin after the prize presentation.

KANGAR: Sarawak ended their swimming campaign in Sukma XVII as the third best team with nine gold, five silver and three bronze medals last Sunday.

The last swimmer to win gold for the team was Welson Sim Wee Sheng who clocked the time of 16:18.14 in the men’s 1,500m freestyle race.

Second was Yeap Zheng Yang of Selangor who timed 16:33.35 while Kuala Lumpur’s Wong Jun Bin finished third in 16:37.59.

After five days of keen competition at the Aquatic Centre, Perlis Sports Complex, Selangor defended their crown by capturing 11 golds, 18 silvers and 13 bronzes.

Kuala Lumpur were the runners-up with 10 golds, six silvers and nine bronzes.

Out of the nine golds that Sarawak won, Welson Sim, Erika Kong Chia Chia and Angela Chieng Chui Fei contributed two individual golds each and the trio got their third gold in the relay events.

National swimmer Vernon Lee Jeau Zhi was expected to deliver two golds but he only won the men’s 400m freestyle and settled for the silver in the men’s 200m butterfly.

The other gold medals came from the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay (Alex Tiong, Ngui Jiung Wei, Vernon Lee, Welson Sim) and women’s 4x200m freestyle relay (Erika Kong, Nita Wong, Tan Tyng, Angela Chieng).

Sarawak’s silver medals were delivered by Vernon Lee (men’s 200m butterfly), Alex Tiong (men’s 400 IM, men’s 200m breaststroke), Angela Chieng (women’s 400m freestyle) and men’s 4x100m freestyle relay (Allister Chung, Ngui Jiung Wei, Vernon Lee, Welson Sim).

The bronze medals were contributed by Alex Tiong (men’s 100m butterfly), Angela Chieng (women’s 200m

freestyle) and Nita Wong (women’s breaststroke).

Angela Chieng was happy she achieved her target of three golds which matched her exploits in Pahang Sukma.

“I could have done better than this but I wasn’t in my top form and could not adapt to the hot weather here in Perlis, as a result I had fever,” she said.

The SMK Batu Lintang student will be flying off to Singapore to compete in the SEA Age Group Swimming Championship that will be held from June 6-8.

“I am hoping to do well in Singapore,” added Angela.

Head coach Hii Hieng Chiong expressed his satisfaction with the overall performance of the state swimmers as the majority of them had achieved their personal bests in their respective individual events.

“The new faces have shown great potential and they helped us win the men’s and women’s 4x200m relay golds.

“This is a very good sign that they can pose a strong challenge in two years’ time when we host the Sukma XIX in Sarawak,” said Hii.

He was pleased to note that all the three national swimmers Vernon Lee, Welson Sim and Erika Kong are all eligible for Sukma 2016.

Apart from the three national swimmers, 17-year old Angela Chieng is also eligible for Sukma XIX.

Hii said it was a great pity that Sarawak dropped two “expected’ gold medals, otherwise they could have finished second overall.

Amateur Swimming Association of Sarawak (Asas) president Dato Wee Hong Seng conveyed his appreciation and gratitude to the swimming team for contributing the vital nine golds to the state contingent.

“Together we make it happen and together we share the happiest moments of our achievements. Let’s get ready for 2016 and target the overall champions title,” he said.

Wee also thanked Social Development Ministry, Sarawak State Sports Council and all affiliates of Asas for their support and contribution to the state’s swimming success.



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Selangor Swimmers Meet Two-Gold Medals Target

GOLDEN DUO: Selangor swimmers Katrina Ann Abdul Hadi (left) and Lee Yhing Huey show their gold medal at the National Aquatic Centre Bukit Jalil. — Bernama photo

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor’s synchronised swimming squad bagged another gold medal yesterday, hence achieving their two-gold medals target at the 14th Malaysia Games.

The medal was contributed by Lee Yhing Huey through the solo free routine event at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Lee collected 73.200 points ahead of Emanuelle Mah Thil Da from Penang, who had to settle for silver medal with 71.800 points, and Jacqueline Ng Siew Fong from Federal Territories, who took the bronze with 67.100 points.

The squad’s first gold medal was contributed by Katrina Ann Abdul Hadi in the solo technical routine event earlier yesterday.

Lee, 19, who is also a national swimmer, said she was happy with her performance and hoped to excel in the duet technical routine and duet free routine today.

“Today’s competition was quite strong, especially from Emanuelle, who is also a national swimmer,” she told reporters here yesterday.

Lee said after the Malaysia Games, she would focus on the preparation for the World Swimming Championship, scheduled for July in Shanghai, China.

Meanwhile, Selangor coach Tony Yap said he would like to congratulate Katrina Ann and Lee for their contributions in achieving the two-gold medals target.

“We hope the squad will be able to win another gold medal tomorrow as a bonus after showcasing excellence performance today,” he said. — Bernama

Diving Gold Makes Up For Earlier Setback

MELAKA: Divers Abdul Rashid Muhamad and Pardika Indoma Pamg made up for their disappointment in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard when they won the men’s 10m synchronised platform gold at the Aquatics Centre at the Hang Jebat Sports Complex.

ALL OURS: Pardika and Rashid display the medals won in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard and men’s 10m synchronised platform. • Photo by Davidson Kho

It was the first gold medal of the day for Sarawak whose athletes were also hunting for gold in cycling, karate-do, archery and tenpin bowling.

Rashid/Pardika collected 338.13 points from three dives to beat Selangor’s Ahmad Fakhri K and Chew Yi Wei who had 308.58 points. Coming in third were Muhamad Syafiq and Adrian Chan of Perak who managed 307.68 points.

Earlier, Rashid/Pardika won the silver in the men’s 3m synchronised springboard when they collected 353.85 points.

The gold medallists in this event were Fakri and Chew who collected 357.96 points while Adzhar Imran Rusli and Muhammad Syafiq of Negeri Sembilan finished third with 298.71 points.

Sarawak also won two more gold and one silver in archery, a silver in tenpin bowling and as at 7pm yesterday, Sarawak had 10 gold, 14 silvers and 8 bronzes to maintain fourth in the medals table standings.

Kuala Lumpur (Federal Territory) took over as the new leaders with 13 gold, eight silver and nine bronze while hosts Melaka had 12 gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals.

Third were Selangor who collected 10 gold, eight silver and 11 bronze.

Erika, Brian Bring Cheers To Sarawak

MELAKA: Two golds and two meet records in swimming.

FINE DOUBLE: Erika (left) and Lim show the gold medals they won at the Hang Jebat Aquatics Centre yesterday. • Photo by Davidson Kho

What a great boost for Sarawak yesterday who had only two gold medals to show after two days in Melaka.

Erika Kong and Brian Derrick Lim brought the golden cheer to the Sarawak contingent when they won in their respective events – women’s 100m breaststroke and men’s 50m backstroke at the Hang Jebat Aquatics Centre.

She clocked 01:12.45 to erase the old record time of 01:13.54 created by Siow Yi Ting in 2002 and beat her main rival Christina Loh of Federal Territory who also posted a meet record in 01:12.89. “This is a good achievement for Erika who has been able to beat her personal best time this year and I am very happy that she has won in the event,” said Erika’s father Anthony Kong.
He said it was not easy to achieve this feat as Erika is in her examination year this year. The 15-year-old Form Three student at Lodge International School will be sitting for her PMR.

“I have looked into the technical aspects of her swim and it has also worked according to my strategy and plan today,” said Kong.

For Erika’s next event which is the women’s 200m breaststroke, Kong is confident that she would do well again.

Meanwhile, Lim registered a new time of 27.81 in the men’s 50m backstroke to erase the old mark of 27.91 set by Linvern Lim of Sabah in 2004.

Ian James Barr of Federal Territory, who was the fastest in the heat, came in second with a time of 27.92 while Tern Jian Han of Johor was third in 28.57.

Sarawak also won a silver and a bronze from Tang Chong Hong in the men’s 100m breaststroke and Esther Yii in the women’s 400 IM medley respectively.

The state wushu exponents grabbed three out of seven gold medals at stake on the final day of competition at the Melaka Universiti Teknikal Malaysia yesterday.

They also struck three silvers and two bronzes to add to their total medal haul of four golds, eight silvers and three bronzes.

Karate-do also contributed one bronze through Nur Nadirah Abdul Gnani in the women’s kata individual.

In diving where only one event, the men’s 3m platform, was competed yesterday, national diver Ooi Tze Liang outclassed 11 other finalists with a total of 397 points to win the gold.

Sarawak’s representatives Pardika Indoma Pang and Abdul Rashid Muhamad could only manage fifth and seventh placings with 306.55 points and 266.40 points respectively.

In tennis, the men’s team event, Sarawak beat Perak 3-0 but lost 1-2 to Negeri Sembilan because Kelvin Lee retired with an ankle injury in the men’s singles.

It was no problem for the women’s team as they thumped Federal Territory 3-0 and were leading Johor 2-0 as at 9pm.

The state women cagers meanwhile suffered their first defeat to Selangor in a group B match that saw the latter winning 61-60.

Poor refereeing was to blame because the referee had blown his whistle for a foul that never was by a Sarawak player in the dying seconds of the game when Sarawak was leading 60-59.

As a result, Selangor capitalised to sink penalty shot to win by a single point.

In women’s hockey, Sarawak lost 0-2 to Pahang.

Sarawak are now placed fourth in the medals standing with seven gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals.

Host Melaka are still the leaders with 12 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals while Federal Territory are second with eight gold, five silver and four bronze medals and Selangor third with eight gold, three silver and nine bronze medals.