Emergence of new stars bodes well for swimming

THE emergence of new swimming stars from the Malaysia Games (Sukma) competition bodes well for the country in the next few years.

A total of 17 Sukma records and two national records were broken at the Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre in Petra Jaya over five days of competition.

Andrew Goh of Selangor, Mohd Dhuha Zulfikry, Bryan Leong, Jayden Tan and Chong Xin Lin of the Federal Territories; and not forgetting host state swimmer Kelly Teo (pic) were among those who put on impressive shows to win gold in new record-setting times.

Andrew, particularly, deserve a big shout-out for breaking the national records in his pet events and being crowned the Best Sportsboy for Sukma.

The 20-year-old splashed to five gold medals and three Sukma records along the way.

In the boys’ 100m breaststroke, Andrew posted 1:01.39s to rewrite his own mark of 1:02.30s set at the Malaysian Open in May.

Then, two days later, he again broke his own mark in the 50m breaststroke twice by setting a time of 28.03s in the morning heats to best his own mark of 28.10s set at last year’s Malaysian Open.

He returned to the pool in the afternoon in the final to lower that mark by posting 27.40s.

Andrew’s time of 27.40s is even faster than the SEA Games record mark by Indonesia’s Felix Viktor Iberle when he won gold in Cambodia last year by posting a time of 27.70s.

Dhuha and Kelly also stood out in the pool as the most successful swimmers in the pool with six gold medals each.

Dhuha, at 16 years old, has a bright future ahead of him and he showed that by breaking four meet records along the way (200m, 400m and 1500m freestyle; and also the 4x100m freestyle).

Dhuha and Andrew are shaping up to be medal contenders not just at the Thailand SEA Games next year but possibly at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan if they continue to improve.

Dhuha’s progress is even more remarkable considering he did not get a medal in any individual event but he was not surprised with his performance.

“I was confident of doing well and winning several gold medals. I had trained hard and with good discipline. Other than training, studying and resting, I did not have time for anything else.

“Michael Phelps is my swimming idol and I follow his approach and mentality as I want to be a top swimmer like him one day,” said Dhuha.

FT maintained their dominance in the swimming discipline by winning 16 gold medals, eight silvers and seven bronzes, followed by Selangor (13-19-7) and Sarawak (9-1-7).

Hosts Sarawak were the most successful state in diving by picking up nine out of the 12 gold medals at stake. Federal Territories won the other three gold medals.

Sarawak are likely to host the aquatic events as co-host for the 2027 SEA Games and by then the current gold medallists like Enrique Maccartney Harold, Dayang Nursharzyra Awang Nasaruddin, Elvis Priestley Clement and Nurul Farisya Alia Affendi will be ready to stamp their mark for the country.