Almost there: Phee Jinq En in the 100m breaststroke final. — S.S.KANESAN/The Star
SWIMMER Phee Jinq En missed out on a good chance to smash her national record but she was not too disappointed with the outcome.
She finished eighth in the women’s 100m breaststroke final after clocking 1:10.40s at the Hangzhou Aquatics Sports Centre last night.
Two-time Olympian Jinq En was the only Malaysian to qualify for the final on the fourth day of swimming competition after coming in with the eighth fastest time of 1:09.74s in the heats.
The 25-year-old Jinq En holds the national record of 1:08.40s, which she clocked at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Japan claimed gold and silver through Reona Aoki (1:06.81s) and Satomi Suzuki (1:06.95s).
Yang Chang took bronze for China in 1:07.01s to push Asian Games debutant and reigning SEA Games champion Letitia Sim of Singapore out of the medals. Letitia, who was second fastest in the heats, settled for fourth with 1:07.13s.
Jinq En was not too disappointed with the outcome in her second Asian Games appearance.
“I’m quite satisfied. I did a good job in the first 50m but I was not fast enough to reach the final. I actually swam faster in the preliminaries than in the final.
“The last time I’ve been this fast was when I was still studying in United States.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t go faster but I know what to work on. I’m quite happy though to make the final,” said Jinq En, who was ranked 11th in the 50m breaststroke event (31.97s) on Sunday.
Khiew Hoe Yean’s hopes of joining Jinq En in the final was dashed after his effort of 1:48.97s in the men’s 200m freestyle was only good for ninth overall position.
Only the top eight swimmers from the heats advance to the final.
Bryan Leong also did not make the cut in the men’s 100m butterfly. He was placed 10th overall with 53.26s.
