Andrew sets new national mark to signal medal intentions at SEA Games

One to watch: Andrew Goh celebrates after breaking the national record in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the Malaysian Open swimming championships in Bukit Jalil yesterday. — GLENN GUAN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Watch out for swimmer Andrew Goh in the Cambodia SEA Games in May.

The 18-year-old primed himself for a gold assault in his debut SEA Games after breaking the national record in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the Malaysian Open swimming championships in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Andrew, representing Selangor, clocked 28.10s in finishing third behind Iberle Felix Viktor of Indonesia (27.65s) and Wantenaar Ronan Zuberg of Namibia (27.84s).

He did not just managed to break the national record of 28.59s held by former national swimmer Wong Fu Kang since 2016 but also qualified on merit for the SEA Games and the World Championships in Fukuoka in July.

The SEA Games bronze medal qualifying mark from Hanoi last year is 28.32s while the world meet qualifying time for the 50m breaststroke is 28.29s.

It’s nothing short of spectacular from the teenager, considering the qualifying standards have gone up for the last few editions of the world championships.

What’s interesting is that Andrew’s time marked him out as a possible contender for gold at the SEA Games as it is faster than the previous winning time from Hanoi.

Pham Tanh Bao of Vietnam clocked 28.28s to win the gold then.

The lanky Andrew, who is coached by former swimmer Marilyn Chua of Selangor, was understandably excited over the prospect of making his debut in SEA Games and world championships.

“I felt good throughout the meet, so I knew something good was coming my way but I didn’t expect to break the national record,” said Andrew, who stands 1.85m.

“I swam 28.76s in the morning heats, so I knew I had a chance to bring down the national record in the afternoon.

“There’s only time for a small celebration as I need to start training harder for the upcoming events,” added Andrew, who has also qualified for the 200m breaststroke for the SEA Games.

Khiew Hoe Yean also competed his Malaysian Open outing on a perfect note by bagging his fifth gold.

The Vietnam SEA Games champion had a splashing time in the 1,500m freestyle when he finished first with a time of 15:49.50.

The 20-year-old, who took gold in the 200m freestyle in Hanoi last year, was pleased with his performance ahead of the SEA Games.

“I swam 12 events over four days of competition and I managed to win five golds,” said Hoe Yean of the Federal Territories.

“It’s tiring but I wanted to gauge my level of readiness as this is only my first competition for the year.”