PETALING JAYA: Short but impactful.
That’s how national artistic gymnast Tan Ing Yueh described the 11-day training stint in Baku, Azerbaijan, last month.
And the 25-year-old, who went there with teammates Geanie Ng, Zarith Imaan Khalid, Rachel Yeoh and coach Ng Shu Wai, is yearning for a longer session in future to strengthen their preparation for next year’s SEA Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
“The short stint was beneficial for us. The new environment was good as we had been confined to camp-based training in Bukit Jalil for a long time,” said Ing Yueh.
“In Bukit Jalil, we also had to balance between studies and sport but there in Baku, we were fully focused in training.”
Their last overseas trip was when they took part in the 2019 Philippines SEA Games.
“We were able to gauge where we stood with the Eastern European gymnasts as they are good. It’ll be great to go there again to further improve ourselves.
“They also have good juniors. I learnt a lot from them. It was also a good experience for our youngsters Imaan and Geanie.”
Ing Yueh said they seek to maintain their dominance in the SEA Games.
At the Philippines Games, the women’s team won four gold medals, one silver and two bronzes. Farah Ann Abdul Hadi stole the show by winning the all-around, uneven bar and floor golds while Tracie Ang, now retired, came out tops in the balance beam.
Ing Yueh, who is the most experienced gymnast in the team now, won silver in vault and bronze in the all-around at the last SEA Games.
“The team are keeping ourselves competitive in training with control testing every month,” she added.
