A light and easy day for Hoe Yean ends with double gold splash

Way to go: Khiew Hoe Yean celebrating after winning the men’s 100m backstroke final at the Malaysian Open in Bukit Jalil yesterday. — GLENN GUAN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: All national swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean wanted was to get the race feeling again in the opening day of the Malaysian Open but he did more than that by winning events that he did not even focus on!

Hoe Yean got off to a cracking start by meeting World Championships qualification mark en route to winning the men’s 100m freestyle and backstroke races at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The 22-year-old Hoe Yean posted 50.00s to claim the 100m freestyle gold medal for Kuala Lumpur, finishing ahead of Penang’s Lim Yin Chuen (50.36s) and Thailand’s Surasit Thongdeang (50.82s).

His strong effort saw him dipping under the world meet B (single entry per nation) cut off time of 50.03s.

Hoe Yean barely had enough time to catch his breath before he returned to the blocks for the 100m backstroke race.

Instead of trailing behind, Hoe Yean powered his way to touch home in 56.41s ahead of Selangor’s Daniel Williams (57.75s) and Bukit Jalil-based swimmer Hii Puong Wei from Sarawak (58.41s).

His winning time in the men’s 100m backstroke is inside the Thailand SEA Games B cut time of 57.20s.

But Hoe Yean is unlikely to focus on the 100m backstroke for the SEA Games as he has set eyes on the longer distance 200m and 400m freestyle events.

“I’m happy to get personal bests in these events but today I’m just swimming for fun basically,” said Hoe Yean.

“It’s been sometime since we had a competition. I wanted to get the race feeling back, so I didn’t mind doing more sprint races although they were not my pet events.

“It’s a nice build up for the rest of the week where I hope to continue swimming well,” said the two-time SEA Games gold medallist, who will be racing in the 200m freestyle today.

In the women’s 800m freestyle, 14-year-old Tan Rui Nee of Penang pulled off an upset by beating Sarawakian Kelly Teo to win gold.

Rui Nee finished the race in 9:35.86s while the 19-year-old Kelly, who won six gold medals in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching last year, settled for silver in 9:35.86s.

FINAL RESULTS

Men

50m butterfly: 1. Mori Motohide (Jpn) 24.42, 2. Joe Aditya Kurniawan (Ina) 24.53, 3. Chan Jie (Sel) 24.60.

100m freestyle: 1. Khiew Hoe Yean (Kul) 50.00, 2. Lim Yin Chuen (Pen) 50.36, 3. Surasit Thongdeang (Tha) 50.82.

100m backstroke: 1. Khiew Hoe Yean (Kul) 56.41, 2. Daniel Williams (Sel) 57.75, 3. Hii Puong Wei (Swk) 58.41.

200m breaststroke: 1. Lo Tsz Lam (Hkg) 2:17.18, 2. Cham Yu Xiang (Kul) 2:18.71, 3. Joseph Chan (Mel) 2:19.10.

1,500m freestyle: 1. Wang Yi Shun (Hkg) 15:58.60, 2. Kwun Wa So (Hkg) 16:30.13, 3. Azizur Riza Adam Malik (Kul) 16:47.39.

Women

50m butterfly: 1. Nicholle Teh (Sin) 27.64, 2. Michelle Fang (Ina) 27.92, 3. Megan Ho (Kul) 28.01.

100m backstroke: 1. Audia Adelia Chantika (Ina) 1:03.49, 2. Chong Xin Lin (Kul) 1:04.29, 3. Flairene Candrea (Ina) 1:04.47.

100m freestyle: 1. Nicholle Teh (Sin) 57.73, 2. Karmelita Muslim (Ina) 58.92, 3. Lyanna Yeow (Mel) 59.05.

200m breaststroke: 1. Lam Hoi Kiu (Hkg) 2:33.33, 2. Claire Cheung (Hkg) 2:36.36, 3. Khoo Sue Enn (Sel) 2:38.22.

800m freestyle: 1. Tan Rui Nee (Pen) 9:26.48, 2. Kelly Teo (Swk) 9:35.86, 3. Chu Xin Ying (Sab) 9:43.64.