BJSS Aquatic: Daniel Bego

Showing posts with label Daniel Bego. Show all posts

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Daniel Boosts Hopes Of Earning A Second Straight Olympic Ticket

KUALA LUMPUR: Daniel Bego gave his hopes of earning a second consecutive Olympic appearance a boost by winning the 50m butterfly race at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

It was a welcome return to the pool for the 23-year-old after a year out recovering from shoulder injuries.

I haven’t competed for so long and just want to see where I stand at the moment. —DANIEL BEGO

Daniel won the 50m butterfly, in the 18 and over category, in 26.38 for Sarawak while Kuala Lumpur’s Andrew Loh was second (26.43) in the national age-group meet, which doubles up as an Olympic qualifier.

Yi Ting Still Invincible In The Women’s 200m Breaststroke

KUALA LUMPUR: Siow Yi Ting may be the oldest swimmer in the national team but she is still invincible when it comes to the women’s 200m breaststroke.

The 26-year-old managed to beat the London Olympic invitational time for the long distance breaststroke race despite swimming alone in the national age-group meet at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Yi Ting clocked 2:31.23 in the 18 and over age-group to dip under the London Olympic invitational time of 2:32.03.

Yi Ting was the only Malaysian swimmer to reach Olympic qualifying standards on the first day of the age-group meet.

Daniel Won’t Push It

PETALING JAYA: Daniel Bego has warned his fans not to expect anything spectacular from him in the national age-group swimming championships, which begin at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil today, as it will be his first race in a year.

The 23-year-old Daniel underwent two shoulder operations to correct a long-standing bone spur problem in April and June last year.

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."

Friday, October 1, 2010

Swimmers Gearing Up For Asiad Too In New Delhi

THE divers look set to make a bigger splash in New Delhi this time and even a historic gold is within reach if world championships bronze medallists Pandelela Rinong and Leong Mun Yee rise to the occasion in the 10m platform synchronised event.

But it will be a quieter Games for the swimmers.

Even the likes of multiple SEA Games gold medallist Daniel Bego and Khoo Cai Lin, who are the only ones to beat the qualifying times, will find it very difficult to keep pace in a world-class competition.

The swimming competition has not seen a massive withdrawal of the big names unlike in athletics.

The pool at the Dr S.P. Murkhejee Stadium will be aplenty with Olympians and world record holders.

The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) secretary, Edwin Chong, said that for swimmers like Daniel and Cai Lin, the Commonwealth Games competitions were part of a run-up to the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

“We can look at Daniel and Cai Lin to qualify for the finals in their events. “That will already be a big achievement for them,” he said.

“Daniel, for example, came back to train only in the second half of the year because he was preparing for the A-level exams and it would be too much to put a target to deliver.

“With two big Games being so close to each other, we have no choice but to focus on one for the swimmers to peak.”

Malaysia enjoyed their best achievement in swimming in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester through Alex Lim Keng Liat, who delivered a silver in the 50m backstroke and a bronze in the 100m backstroke.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Oh! Danny Boy

KAMARUZAMAN AHMAD

DANIEL: Busy with exams

KUALA LUMPUR: Laos Sea Games Best Male Athlete, swimmer Daniel Bego, was a mere spectator on the final day of the 53rd Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) Championships in National Aquatic Centre yesterday.

He seemed to enjoy himself watching his teammates race. No swimmer — even the invited foreign legions from Hong Kong, Singapore and Iran — broke any of his records.

He was in the company of "Pei Ling" — a national synchronise swimmer.

Daniel opted out from the competition as he was in the midst of his A-level examinations from May 12 to June 10.

For that reason too, he will not be going to the United States next month to compete in regional championships in preparation for the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Asum have named Siow Yi Ting and Khoo Cai Lin to compete. The former is already in US as she is studying there.

He said: "However, I still have to enter active competitions before the Games to test myself. For the moment, I am very busy with my studies.

“I will consult my coach Paul Birmingham.

“I do not wish to put too much pressure on myself and am not overly concerned about what lies ahead. I just want to do my level best.”

Daniel, who has not competed since the beginning of the year, said the exams were a blessing in disguise as it gave him the much-needed break.

In the pools, Hong Kong and Singapore stole the thunder from the Malaysians to emerge champions and runners- up respectively.

Hong Kong collected 10 gold, 17 silver and 15 bronze medals, with Singapore 9-4-3. Selangor came in third with 7-0-2.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Rich Pickings For SEA Games’ Best Athlete Daniel

PUTRAJAYA: Swimmer Daniel Bego boosted his bank account by RM29,000 after becoming the biggest recipient of the Laos SEA Games incentive awards given out by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday.

Only the SEA Games gold medallists were rewarded and Daniel topped the list with his stunning five-gold performance in Vientiane.

Previous Malaysian male swimmers had never won more than two individual gold medals in a single Games but Daniel topped the list by coming out tops in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle as well as in the 100m butterfly.

Grand total: Daniel Bego shows off the trophy and the mock cheque for RM29,000 Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Sarawakian also secured an additional RM4,000 for setting four new SEA Games records.
The only event in which he did not lower the Games record was in the 200m butterfly.

Daniel, who also smashed the longest existing record in the 400m freestyle and was later named Best Male Athlete of the 25th edition of the Games, said the Asian and

Commonwealth Games would be his major goals this year.

“These are the two big meets which I hope to do well in. This is the first time I have qualified on merit for the Commonwealth and Asian Games. I have my A-level examinations some time in June and I plan to step up training after that,” said Daniel, who is also hotly tipped to win the Male Olympian of the Year award for the second successive time on Saturday.

A total of RM230,000 were handed out yesterday and aquatics, which accounted for 15 out of the 40 gold medals won by the Malaysian contingent, took the biggest share of the pie with a total of RM83,000.

Woman swimmer Siow Yi Ting was the second biggest individual recipient with RM18,000 for winning three gold medals in new SEA Games record times.

Fellow woman swimmer Khoo Cai Lin completed the list for swimming with RM6,000 while divers Yeoh Ken Nee, Bryan Nickson Lomas, Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee and Wendy Ng Yan Yee collectively earned RM30,000.

The national football team, who ended a 20-year gold medal drought in Laos, received RM20,000.

Completing the list were athletics (RM32,000), karate (RM25,000), pencak silat (RM20,000), wushu (RM15,000), badminton (RM15,000), boxing (RM10,000), taekwondo (RM5,000) and archery (RM5,000).

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Home Sweet pool

Five-star swimmer Daniel prefers to train in Malaysia

KAMARUZAMAN AHMAD
KUALA LUMPUR: Hailed as the best athlete in the 2009 Laos Sea Games, national swimmer Daniel Bego claims that there is "no place like home".

Daniel Bego

The 20-year-old Daniel from Sarawak said he prefers to train in Malaysia which he feels is the best place to thrive on his swimming career.

"I feel the best place is ‘home sweet home’ and I'm not thinking of training overseas even if asked to do so. This will also help save the taxpayers’ money.

"There are no plans yet for overseas training. I want to train in Malaysia. We have all the facilities and a team of good coaches. Why waste all that?

“To be able to perform well I need to train harder and compete in international competitions.

However, I'll leave it to my coach Paul Birmingham to have the final say. It is still early to say anything about my preparations for future meets especially the Asian and Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Daniel added that training in Malaysia would also enable him to juggle his studies — as an A-levels student at a private university college — and swimming. He considered the Laos Sea Games as a major turning point in his swimming career.

Daniel,who won five gold medals, was able to redeem himself after a poor performance in the 2007 Korat Games where he only won two gold medals out of a possible five due to high fever. His main goal is to do well in the Asian and Commonwealth Games in Guangzhou and New Delhi respectively next year.

It will also mark his second appearance in both the multiple sports events. On merit, Daniel deserves an overseas training stint to hone his skills in the pool further following his outstanding performance at the Laos Games. He rewrote three national records in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle.

To put icing on the cake, the times recorded in these three races and in the 100m butterfly were new Sea Games records. He also won gold in 200m butterfly to take his tally to five and a bronze in the relay men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Daniel Sets Milestone With Magnificent Five-Gold Feat

TWO incredible efforts have given Daniel Bego a place in history as the first Malaysian male swimmer to win five gold medals in an edition of the SEA Games.

Daniel wiped three seconds off his own Games record to retain the 200m freestyle title at the National Sports Complex last night.

And the energetic 20-year-old barely had time to catch his breath before returning to win the 200m butterfly for the first time.

High five: Daniel Bego splashing his way to winning the men’s 200m butterfly event to complete his five-gold collection at the Laos SEA Games Monday.

Daniel did not have it easy as he was forced to come from behind in both races to enable Malaysia to end the swimming competition with an outstanding tally of nine gold medals – making it the best-ever effort by a Malaysian team at a Games outside Malaysia.

Daniel was more than one body-length behind American-trained Filipino Miguel Molina going into the last 50m of the 200m freestyle race but an incredible surge saw him touch home for gold in 1:49.22, erasing the Games record of 1:52.32.

It was also a new national record, improving on his previous time of 1:50.92 set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In the 200m butterfly, Daniel put up another spectacular performance as he clawed his way back from fourth position going into the final turn to win the race in 2:00.61.

The 200m butterfly was the only individual race in which he failed to lower the meet record but his performances, undeniably, make him the most outstanding athlete of the Games thus far.
Daniel also finished with a bronze from the 4x200m freestyle.

“I don’t want to just lose without a fight. I came here not expecting much but just to try to defend my titles. I took better care of myself and was not sick but I was still having a bit of a problem with my shoulder,” he said.

“Winning so many (gold medals) is just awesome.”
The Sarawakian also smashed the longest-standing Games and national record in the 400m freestyle on Saturday.

Khoo Cai Lin also made a splash on the final night of the swimming programme, taking silver in the women’s 200m butterfly in 2:14.30.

Cai Lin, who had taken the 400m freestyle gold medal in a Games record time, almost chalked up the biggest upset when she led 2006 Doha Asian Games gold medallist Tao Li of Singapore after the halfway stage.

However, the more illustrious Singaporean managed to surge ahead for the gold. But Cai Lin still had the satisfaction of taking almost two seconds off her national record of 2:16.11 set in July this year.

“Her underwater kick is better than mine ... after all, she is a butterfly specialist. I’m still happy with the silver as I did not even make the final last time in Korat,” said Cai Lin, who also broke Games and national records in the 400m and 800m freestyle.

A poor start cost Chui Lai Kwan the chance to win a second gold medal, settling for the bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle in 26.22.

Siow Yi Ting’s bid to win a fourth gold was also dashed. The Negri Sembilan swimmer, who is still recovering from fever, finished sixth in the 400m individual medley in 5:05.45.