PETALING JAYA: United States-based Lim Ching Hwang will return to Malaysia in May to join the national swimming team’s preparation for the Singapore SEA Games in June.
The 18-year-old last represented Malaysia at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in August last year. He then left for the US to pursue an economics degree at the Ohio State University (OSU).
Ching Hwang, a gold medallist at the Nanjing Asian Youth Games 2013, believes he’s ready to make an impact at the SEA Games after having gained invaluable experience from his training as well as representing OSU in the college swimming circuit.
“I have a good feeling about my form,” said Ching Hwang in an e-mail interview.
“My other main targets are doing well at the SEA Games and the World Championships (in Kazan, Russia, in July).
“I’ve adapted well with the OSU team but I still got a lot to improve.
“College swimming in the US is very different from swimming international meets. We swim in shorter pools. Thus they put more emphasis on details like turns and techniques.
“They also focus a lot on power, something which is lacking in my repertoire. So, I guess I’m on the right track to be a better swimmer,” he added.
In 2013, Ching Hwang was touted as a potential replacement for Daniel Bego as the nation’s No. 1 sprinter after he clocked impressive times for both the 100m and 200m freestyle events.
His personal bests of 50.87 and 1:50.42 are not far off Daniel’s national record of 50.16 (100m freestyle) and 1:49.22 (200m freestyle). But till today, he has yet to beat the marks.
“I think this is my year to break national records,” he said confidently.
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