| Fadhil Yunus |
THE Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof officiated the opening ceremony of the 41st Southeast Asia (SEA) Age Group Swimming Championships at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex yesterday.
The Chairman of Organising Committee of the 41st SEA Age Group Swimming Championships, Ahmad Isa, in his opening remarks, said that this year’s meet will be one of the qualifying meets for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Being able to take part in such a high-level championship is no mean feat and all eyes will be on you, our young athletes. Your presence at this swimming championships is a culmination of your perseverance and commitment to the sport and the drive to be the best,” said Ahmad.
“Many of you would have struggled and trained extremely hard in order to make it here with dedication to your training through the elements, rain and shine. The fact that you are here is proof that you have persevered- and who knows, three years from now, some of you could be competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan,” he further added.
Vietnam is well positioned of meeting their 40-gold target following a devastating performance in the relays for the second consecutive day putting them on 32 gold heading to the final day of the championships.
The defending champions continued their dominance after bagging 11 gold medals in the morning session as they extended their lead at the top of the medal standings and consolidated their lead with a series of good performances in the afternoon session.
A total of seven new personal bests were recorded on day two by members from the Brunei Darussalam national swimming team.
National swimmer Ashley Chai, who has represented in the Samoa Commonwealth Youth Games in 2015, shaved her previous mark of 32.79s with a new time of 32.63s in the Girls 16-18 50m butterfly.
Ashley also sets a new personal best in the girls’ 16-18 200m backstroke after recording a time of 2:41.27s and subsequently breaking her old mark of 2:42.03s.
Chan Zeke, the youngest swimmer in the national team, lowered his old time of 35.20s with a revised time of 34.61s in the boys’ 13 and under 50m butterfly.
He was the youngest member in the heats having to compete against opponents at least two years his senior. Brunei’s youngest female in the team, Breanna Lee Le Er, was also competing against opponents two and three years her senior.
Dylan Chua Chen Yee also sets a new personal best after registering a time of 1:15.38s, eclipsing his old time of 1:15.51 in the boys’ 16-18 100m breaststroke.
Brunei’s Justin Lim reduced his old time of 1:31.05s with a new mark of 1:28.56s in the boys’ 13 and under 100m breaststroke.
Emma Yusuf also joined the group of new personal best records after clocking a time of 1:29.29s, erasing her old time of 1:29.75s.
Natasha Sia sets a new personal best in the girls’ 14-15 50m freestyle after clocking a time of 31.69s, shortening her old mark of 32.34s in the process.
The second day of action saw an electrifying start with Thailand setting the wheels in motion with a total of six championship records set including four individual events and two relays.
Thailand’s mixed quartet of Chermas Wiriyawattana, Thanonchai Janruksa, Apiwit Krudtup and Manita Sathianchokwisan set a new SEA Age Group record with a time of 4:06.73s, shaving the old time of 4:06.97s previously set by Singapore’s Francis Fong, Samuel Khoo, Nicholle Toh and Ashley Khoo in 2015.
In just the fourth event of the day, the boys 14-15 200m freestyle saw a classic battle emerging between Vietnam’s duo of Huu Kim Son Nguyen and Hung Nguyen Tran.
The pair broke the SEA Age Group record previously set by Sarit Tiewong of Thailand who recorded a time of 1:54.35s in 2010.
However, it was Huu Kim Son who had been unstoppable who clinched gold after posting a time of 1:52.33s while Hung Nguyen settled for silver whose time of 1:53.70s was also good enough to beat the championship record.
The Vietnamese male freestyle relay team comprising Dinh Chuyen Ngo, Hung Nguyen Tran, Man Dat Huynh and Huu Kim Son Nguyen made history after setting a new SEA Age Group record with a time of 3:31.82s, smashing the old mark of 3:34.18s previously set by the Singapore team of Benedict Boon, Chua Wei Feng, Fong Jia Yi and Chua Yi Sh in 2014.
Thailand’s Nawaporn Thaitae sets a new SEA Age Group record with a time of 2:22.81s in the girls’ 13 and under 200m backstroke, eclipsing the ten-year record of 2:23.92s previously set by Malaysia’s Karmen Cheng in 2007.
Singapore’s Mikkel Jun Jie Lee also sets a new championship record in the boys’ 14-15 50m freestyle event despite not bettering his fastest time with a time of 23.97s, eclipsing a seven-year record of 24.04s set by Thailand’s Kittapat Sricharoenboon in 2010.
Huu Kim Son Nguyen claimed his fourth championship record in a successful campaign with his latest accomplishment clocking a time of 4:28.19s in the boys 14-15 400m Individual Medley, consequently taking over the baton from Tran Duy Khoi who clocked 4:30.94s in June 2012.
Brunei Darussalam played hosts at the ongoing championships which will conclude today.
The post Minister officiates SEA Age Group meet appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.