KUALA LUMPUR: After a long spell of stagnation, swimmer Low Zheng Yong finally has a breakthrough to savour.
Zheng Yong touched the wall in the 200m butterfly in 1 minute 56.80 seconds, beating his previous mark of 1:57.96s, set in 2024 at the National Short Course Swimming Championships at the National Aquatics Centre in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
That time saw him inside the B standard of 1:57.15s for the World Championships in Beijing in December.
The 24-year-old's previous national mark of 1:57.96 was about half a second short of the 2024 World Championships qualifying standard.
"I cannot describe how happy I am. Two years ago, I also tried to qualify for the World Championships, but I missed the standard by about half a second," he said after winning the final.
"This time, I improved a lot and made the B-cut. I had stagnated for a long time, so I am really happy to have made this breakthrough."
Yet his record-breaking swim followed a difficult morning, as nerves and a tight body left him dissatisfied with his heat performance.
Zheng Yong had gained confidence from a personal best the previous day, but he needed to regain his composure before the final.
"After the heats, I kept telling myself to calm down because I still had another chance," he said.
"Before the race, I was still a little nervous. But I did not think about the time, the national record or the World Championships cut. I just tried to execute the race well.
"When I touched the wall, I saw that I had achieved a personal best, a national record and the B-cut. I was happy."
Zheng Yong is targeting further improvement ahead of the December championships, while his longer-term ambition is a medal at next year's Kuala Lumpur SEA Games after failing to qualify for the previous edition in Thailand.
"My target is to try to win a medal. There is still another year to train, so I will take it one month and one day at a time. It starts with training," he said.
However, Chong Xin Lin was heartbroken after breaking her women's 100m backstroke national record twice but emerging from the pool inconsolable after missing the Beijing B standard by just 0.08 seconds.
Xin Lin clocked 59.61s in the final, falling agonisingly short of the 59.53s qualifying standard.
She had already lowered her previous national record of 1:00.45, set in 2024, to 1:00.05 in the morning preliminaries before going faster again in the final.
Her final effort shaved 0.84 seconds off her previous national mark, but even that substantial improvement was not enough to secure the B standard.
RESULTS
Men's 800m freestyle: 1. Lewis Mu (DSA) 8:12.27, 2. Johan Ng (WST) 8:43.75, 3. Wei Kang Kuan (WST) 8:51.23.
100m breaststroke: 1. Lee Shing Yan (IBSC) 59.79, 2. Cham Yu Xiang (DSA) 1:02.32, 3. Job Xi Jay Tan (HBS) 1:02.84.
200m butterfly: 1. Low Zheng Yong (NT) 1:56.80 (NR), 2. Goh Li Hen (NT) 2:00.81, 3. Aslan Adnan (PADE) 2:02.55.
50m freestyle: 1. Lim Yin Chuen (NT) 22.56, 2. Loo Cheng Feng (WST) 22.72, 3. Ho Zhi Yang (PADE) 22.87.
100m backstroke: 1. Hii Puong Wei (NT) 56.00, 2. Oswald Lim (PADE) 57.03, 3. Khew Mu Han (PADE) 57.25.
Women's 800m freestyle: 1. Chong Yuan Yi (PADE) 9:26.73, 2. Anna Maglai (DSA) 9:32.16, 3. Kimberley Bee (VSC) 9:46.77.
100m breaststroke: 1. Isabelle Chiyi Buckley (IBSC) 1:10.89, 2. Khoo Sue Enn (Newave) 1:12.64, 3. Kimberley Bee (VSC) 1:15.67.
200m butterfly: 1. Mishya Khor (PADE) 2:18.34, 2. Aw Yuet Ting (WST) 2:18.43, 3. Yoong Jia Jia (PADE) 2:25.90.
50m freestyle: 1. Wong Shi Qi (DSA) 26.09, 2. Nadia Lim (KRSC) 26.10, 3. Aw Yuet Ting (WST) 27.15.
100m backstroke: 1. Chong Xin Lin (NT) 59.61 (NR) 2. Vivian Tee (WST) 1:03.54, 3. Rainne Foo Jie Xin (PADE) 1:04.83.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd