The Star : Asum : Swimmers must adhere to rules

KUALA LUMPUR: The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) have not closed their doors on independent swimmers and hope that former internationals like Chui Lai Kwan will abide by their rules and regulations.

Asum says they did not overlook independent swimmer Chui Lai Kwan. The are adamant that rules and regulations for qualifying must be adhered to.

On Friday, Asum’s long-serving secretary Edwin Chong said that they did not overlook Lai Kwan for the World Championships in Barcelona, which ended on Aug 4.

It was just that they could not accommodate the Sabahan because of “rules and and principles”.

Asum’s rules clearly stated that the Malaysia Open in May was the final qualifying platform for all swimmers – either national or independent – and the 23-year-old Lai Kwan only made the cut at the Singapore National Championships a month later in June.

She clocked 26.28s to beat the B qualifying mark of 26.29s in the women’s 50m freestyle and it was well within the qualifying period of July 1, set by the world governing body Fina (International Swimming Federation).

Lai Kwan, a national record holder of three events, hoped that the national body would support athletes and be more flexible, especially when they qualify on merit.

Edwin said Lai Kwan could have competed in the world meet if she had fulfilled two criteria.

“I’m a stickler when it comes to discipline and procedures. During the team manager’s meeting before the Malaysia Open, we made it very clear that it was the last tournament for swimmers to qualify for the world meet. All the key people knew about it,” said Edwin.

“Secondly, all requests should come from our state affiliates. Lai Kwan is from Sabah but the association have been dissolved since January because of registration issues. So, we received nothing from them.

“In cases like this, I know that the swimmers are the innocent party and, in fact, we allowed several juniors from Sabah to compete through application from the Sabah Sports Council (SSC). The proper process must be adhered to.”

Edwin said that they always try to be fair to all athletes. In fact, last year, they supported independent swimmer Heidi Gan, which led to her stunning qualification at the London Olympic Games.

He advised swimmers to find out the rules and cut-off marks earlier so that they would not be left frustrated.

“The door is still open for Lai Kwan and others like her to qualify for the next major event – the Commonwealth Games (2014) – but they have to go by the book,” said Edwin.

“We will recommend the best athletes if their qualification is justified and it is then up to the OCM (Olympic Council of Malaysia) selection committee to have the final say. As for other Fina-sanctioned meets, Asum will use their discretion ... we’ll try to be fair to all.”

The NST : SWIMMING: Target achievable, says ASUM

 By Fadhli Ishak

THE Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) is confident its swimmers can exceed the two-gold medal target set for them at the Islamic Solidarity Games on Sept 22-Oct 1 in Palembang, Indonesia.

ASUM secretary Edwin Chong said he is expecting Malaysia's women swimmers to put on a dominant display at the competition. The women's category is being included for the first time at the Games after not being part of the inaugural edition in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

Chef-de-mission Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin had on Monday set a conservative three-gold target for Malaysia at the Islamic Games with two from swimming and one from wushu.

"It has been a long time since we last competed at the Games so it is quite hard to gauge the level of competition we will be up against, especially on the men's side," said Edwin.

"However, I believe our women swimmers are very strong (compared to other Islamic countries) as a lot of Arab countries do not have women swimmers.

"I am looking forward to the girls doing well. Two gold should not be a problem for us and we will look to exceed that figure."

Edwin picked Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and hosts Indonesia as countries he expects to be among the medal winners. Daniel Bego had won two gold medals while divers Bryan Nickson Lomas and Yeoh Ken Nee took a gold each in 2005. Diving, however, has not been included at the Games this year. Edwin added that the Games will serve as a final tune-up event for the national swimmers before the Myanmar Sea Games this year.

"We will be sending eight men and seven women to the Games which is more or less a full squad," Edwin confirmed.

"All the elite swimmers from Bukit Jalil, except for Ian James Barr, will be going as it will be a good chance for them to prepare for the Sea Games. "It will most likely be our last competition before Myanmar as it will be less than two months before the Sea Games when we return from Indonesia."

Ian is expected to undergo surgery to fix a recurring shoulder injury soon.

Read more at http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/swimming-target-achievable-says-asum-1.345572

Also view ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES: Banking on swimming and wushu to hit target

Lee Jia Jing broke a longstanding 100m breaststroke record in Sport Excel Grand Final 2013

Last weekend, the Sport Excel Junior Swimming Circuit, Grand Final was held in DBKL swimming pool at Bandar Tun Razak from 24-25 August, 2013. This meet provides a great platform to yield potential swimmers at the junior development stage.

Over the 2-day meet, the preliminary heats were held in the morning with 24 swimmers fighting for the final 8 placings in the afternoon finals.

Stemmed from the qualification in Leg 1 and Leg 2, a total of 31 clubs with eligible swimmers participated in this annual meet. IBSC and PADE have the most number of qualified swimmers entering the meet, both with 40 competitors from Group II, III and IV.

At the end of the meet on Sunday, IBSC has again retained the Overall Champion Club title with accumulation of 316.5 points against PADE (229 points) and Penang Dolphins Team was the third best club (106 points).

Top 10 clubs with most points

No matter how little points IBSC swimmers may contribute to the club, your points and effort count every bit in making IBSC the champion club. Well done everyone including those who have managed to shed their PBs with great improvement.

Congratulations to the medallists and point earners of IBSC below.

No.	Top points swimmers	Points	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Record
1	Lee Jia Jing (10)	47	3	3		2
2	Kimberly Ong (12)	40	3	1	2
3	Tan Ei Siang (14)	30	1	1	2
4	Chew Chee Ming (12)	26		2	2
5	Nicholas Soon (14)	24	1	1
6	Phoebe Law (11)	20	1
7	Pun Pei Jin (10)	18			1
8	Chong Yong Qi (12)	17.5		2	1
9	Yap Li Wen (13)	15	1		1
10	Anjali Lim  (11)	10		1
10	Desmond Ng (13)	10		1
10	Rohan Lee (12)	10
11	Adam Afif Faizal (13)	8		1
11	Goh Wai Hou (14)	8
11	Yong Zhen Yi (9)	8			1
12	Teh Lilian (14)	6
12	Lee Chee Shian (14)	6
13	Brandy Chew (12)	5			1
14	Afiq Imran Masron (14)	2
14	Karla Lim (11)	2
15	Amanda Grace Nunis (14)	1
15	Iqmal Muqhis Faizal (11)	1
15	Kevin Lim (13)	1
15	Sebastian Soon (11)	1
	TOTAL POINTS	316.5

The competition was made more interesting when we witnessed some old records being broken.

Lee Jia Jing, 10, who has been targeting to break the 100m breaststroke record did his parents and coach proud when he clocked 1:18.47s in the afternoon final to over-write a long-standing 7 year record (1:19.43s) made by Lau Zheng Rong in 2006.

On the second day, Jia Jing also put his name on the record listing for 50m breaststroke when he shared exactly the same timing of 37.08s of the record time, also made by Lau Zheng Rong in 2006 for Group IV boys.

Collectively, Jia Jing amassed the most points for IBSC, earning 47 points with his 3 gold and 3 silver achievements.

Lee Jia Jing, put his name in the record breaking list by charting 2 new times in breaststrokes

Meanwhile, IBSC is lucky to have Kimberly Ong returned from her holiday abroad in the nick of time to participate in this championship, else this young lass would have foregone the opportunity of being crowned the Overall Champion for Group 3 girls.

Kimberly scooped up 3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze to accumulate a total of 40 points, hence her entitlement as the winner of Overall Champion under her category.

Kimberly Ong, 12 receiving the award from Mr Teo Mua Seng, President of PRAKL

The meet was made more lively when the IBSC Support Team cheered aloud for their swim compatriots with poms-poms. Thanks to the parents for initiating the cheer leading team and for being at the pool to support their children.

The Team Managers and chaperons have done a good job in the Grand Final looking after the team. Our appreciation also goes to the dedicated coaches in bringing good results to the swimmers.


The full results of Sport Excel Grand Final 2013 can be downloaded here.

Mr Edwin Chong (left) speaking to the officials from MILO, the main sponsor of the Sport Excel event

Group 3 boys ready to spring backwards

Swimmers waiting for their events in the Marshall room

Yeong Zhen Yi, 9 flying in her butterfly event, but she sprung up a pleasant surprise by coming in third in 100m breaststroke

Yap Li Wen won  gold in 100m breaststroke in Group 2 girls

Aqua dragon, Tan Ei Siang, won gold in his pet event of 100m backstroke

Swimmers cheering their peers

View more photos at IBSC Gallery.

IBSC is overall champion in Sport Excel Grand Final 2013 today!

The Grand Final of Sport Excel Junior Swimming Circuit 2013 has just concluded this evening at Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur, Bandar Tun Razak.

IBSC swimmers have done us proud again as Ikan Bilis Swimming Club has retained the title of Overall Champion Club with collection of 316.5 points.

Also our heartiest congratulations go to Kimberly Ong, 12 for winning the Overall Champion Group 3 Girls category. Well done!

More reports to follow later.

View IBSC Gallery for more pictures.

The Star : Ching Hwang grabs four medals in Nanjing

PETALING JAYA: Swimmer Lim Ching Hwang brought his Asian Youth Games (AYG) campaign to a memorable end by winning four medals from all his four events in Nanjing, China.

Lim Ching Hwang raked in another silver in the boys’ 100m freestyle final on Friday when he clocked 51.14 to finish behind South Korea’s Kim Dasan (51.07).

Ching Hwang raked in another silver in the boys’ 100m freestyle final on Friday when he clocked 51.14 to finish behind South Korea’s Kim Dasan (51.07).

Ching Hwang was on the same pace as the Korean at the turn but was beaten towards the finishing line.

The bronze went to Singapore’s Matthew Duncan (51.52).

Although Ching Hwang’s time was outside his personal best of 50.86, which he clocked at the Singapore national age-group meet in March, the 17-year-old is still happy to have capped off his AYG appearance with four medals in four events.

He had stood at the top of the podium in the 200m freestyle and picked up a bronze medal as part of the 4x100m medley quartet on Tuesday.

Then, on Thursday, he won his first silver medal in the 50m freestyle.

“When the other swimmers were ahead, I told myself to calm down and just do my best. I’m satisfied with the result.

“My rival was stronger and had better reach. I’m satisfied as this was my only chance to compete in the AYG, which is held every four years,” said Ching Hwang, who will now set his sights on another memorable debut at the World Youth Championships in Dubai next week.

Meanwhile, Wong Fu Kang can finally return home with a medal after claiming a bronze in the boys’ 200m breaststroke final in 2:21.16.

The gold medal went to Taiwan’s Cai Bin-rong (2:14.68) and the silver to South Korea’s Kim Jae-youn (2:18.33).

Malaysia ended the swimming competition with a total haul of one gold, three silvers and three bronzes.

Yap Siew Hui took a silver and a bronze in the girls’ 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly respectively.

Star Online : Ching Hwang bags third medal at AYG

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Young swimmer Lim Ching Hwang continued to make a splash by bagging his third medal while butterfly girl Yap Siew Hui claimed her second in as many days at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China.

Lim Ching Hwang celebrates after winning a silver medal in the boys' 50m freestyle at the Asian Youth Games at Nanjing, China.

The 17-year-old Ching Hwang powered his way to a silver in the boys’ 50m freestyle final by clocking 23.46 yesterday. He finished behind Singapore’s Darren Lim, who romped to the gold in 23.09.

Ching Hwang touched the pad just ahead of South Korea’s Kim Dasan (23.47) and came out of the pool feeling that he could have improved on the national mark of 23.42, held by national swimmer Foo Jian Beng since 2008.

It was Ching Hwang’s third medal of the Games, having taken gold in the 200m freestyle and was part of the 4x100m freestyle quartet who won a bronze on the opening day on Tuesday.

Still, Ching Hwang had the satisfaction of doing better than the 23.62 he set in his semi-final heat on Wednesday.

“This is a new personal best for me but I regret not doing better in the last 25m to get a better time. I’m happy with this medal as I’m better in the 100m and 200m freestyle races,” said Ching Hwang.

Siew Hui also left the pool contented after picking up her second medal of the Games in the girls’ 100m butterfly.

The 15-year-old posted 1:02.15 for the bronze behind Singapore’s Meagan Lim (1:01.58) and South Korea’s Park Jin-young (1:00.41).

Siew Hui had taken the silver medal in the 50m butterfly on Wednesday.

Malaysia have one gold, two silvers and two bronzes to show for from the swimming pool thus far, and Ching Hwang could deliver another medal on the final night of competition in the 100m freestyle.

The Singapore Sports School student eased into the final after winning his semi-final heat in 52.24.

It was the second fastest time among the eight finalists, with Stanislav Karnaukhov of Kyrgyzstan setting the benchmark at 52.14.

The Star : Siew Hui splashes to a silver in Nanjing

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Hail the new butterfly princess.

Yap Siew Hui powered to a silver in the girls' 50m butterfly at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China.

Youngster Yap Siew Hui has shown that she’s ready to take on the challenge of swimming the butterfly event, after the retirement of Marellyn Liew, with a silver medal effort in the Asian Youth Games (AYG) in Nanjing, China, on Wednesday.

The 15-year-old was actually just a finger-tip short of nicking the gold medal for Malaysia in the girls’ 50m butterfly final.

Siew Hui, who only qualified for the final as the fourth fastest qualifier, clocked 27.96 to finish agonisingly close – 0.07sec – behind Ko Miso of South Korea (27.89).
The bronze went to another South Korean, Park Jin-young (28.04).

Bagging a sparkling silver is still an impressive achievement for Siew Hui.

 She had to forgo the chance of making a World Championships debut in Barcelona last month and considering the time she posted was not far behind from her personal best of 27.60.

Marellyn last swam for the country in the Indonesia SEA Games in 2011, taking silver in the 100m butterfly – and there’s been no one of her calibre in the national squad – until now.

Siew Hui was roped into the national squad under coach Paul Birmingham early this year.

 She was also the best overall female swimmer in the MSSM (national schools) meet in March.

Lim Ching Hwang, meanwhile, is on course for a treble at the Asian Youth Games.

 He made it to the final of boys’ 50m freestyle as the second fastest qualifier.

Fresh from winning the 200m freestyle race on Monday, the Singapore Sports School student continued his fine form in the semi-final by posting 23.62 to finish behind Singapore’s Darren Lim (23.42).

“The 50m discipline is not my strongest event.

 “I’ll try for a medal. It’s an open affair in the final,” said the 17-year-old.

Besides competing in 50m freestyle final today, Ching Hwang is also fighting for a place in the 100m freestyle final.

He has been seeded first for the event based on his personal best of 50.87.

The Star : Ching Hwang bags first-ever gold in swimming at Youth Games

Lim Ching Hwang on Tuesday won the boys' 200m freestyle gold medal at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, clocking in at 1:50.81.

PETALING JAYA: Youngster Lim Ching Hwang made a big splash for Malaysian swimming after winning the boys’ 200m freestyle gold medal in stunning fashion at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China.

It was Malaysia’s first-ever gold medal from swimming at the Games, which are held every four years, and Ching Hwang splashed to victory in 1:50.81 Tuesday.

It was just outside his personal best of 1:50.42, which he clocked at the Singapore national age-group meet in March, but it was still enough to take the gold ahead of Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen (1:52.19) and Thailand’s Kittiya Tanakrit (1:52.94).

Ching Hwang was delighted to have lived up to his billing after qualifying the fastest in the heats in the morning.

He surged to the front right from the start and never allowed his rivals to make up ground in the four-lap race.

Ching Hwang said it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for him to impress at the Games.

“You only get to compete in one Asian Youth Games as you’ll be past the eligibility bracket (14-17) the next time around,” said the 17-year-old.

“I was feeling very down after failing to impress at the recent World Championships in Barcelona.

“I was determined to go under 1:50 here and see where it takes me. My thoughts were on getting a medal, whatever the colour.

“I really could not be happier that it’s a gold. I’ll try to make it a double delight by capturing the 100m freestyle next (Wednesday).”

The Singapore-based swimmer returned to the pool for a second medal – getting a bronze as part of the 4x100m freestyle relay quartet, which also comprised Alwyn Tan, Welson Sim and Wong Fu Kang.

They posted 3:29.81 to finish behind South Korea (3:28.66) and Singapore (3:29.63).

Malaysians also made two other finals – with Fu Kang narrowly missing out on third in the boys’ 50m breaststroke and Phee Jing En finishing sixth in the girls’ 50m breaststroke after clocking 33.49.

Fu Kang reached the finish line in 29.78 behind South Korea’s Kim Jae-youn (28.97), Cai Bing Rong of China (29.24) and Chao Man Hou of Hong Kong (29.52).

Nanjing 2013 Asian Youth Games

The 2nd Asian Youth Games are being held in Nanjing, People's Republic of China from August 16–24, 2013. Just like the inaugural edition, the games will serve as a dress-rehearsal for the upcoming 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, which will also be held in the same city.

The mascot, called Yuan Yuan, is based on the image of Eosimias sinensis, the earliest higher primate to date found in Jiangsu.

source : wikipedia


Reports and updates on Nanjing 2013 Asian Youth Games can be found at the following Facebook link.

Nanjing 2013 Asian Youth Games @ FB

This is how the Nanjing 2013 AYG medals look like.

IBSC made an impressive outing at 9th SICC Invitational

The IBSC kids were really excited about the SICC trip to Singapore last week. The entourage took off on Friday morning after swim training and made a smooth entry into Singapore by afternoon to check into YMCA.

For some swimmers, the SICC invitational was their first swim meet abroad and they were all geared up for it.

Participating swimmers gathering for a group photo at the start of the meet

With a total of  only 19 swimmers, IBSC collected 20 gold, 23 silver and 20 bronze including the relay events. It's such an awesome performance for such a small team and IBSC managed to a third position overall with collection of 717.5 points after the champion club R.Philippines Swimming League and the host, SICC.

Pint-sized Pun Pei Jin was awarded the Overall Champion for the girls under 10 category as she was donned the most medals with 5 gold and 4 silver in the 9 individual events she swam.

Congratulations to the team and all swimmers who have collected medals and points for IBSC. Also thumbs-up to Lee Jia Jing, Yap Li Wen and Under 12 Boys Team A who have broken 2 meet records each.

Boys	Meet Record	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Point Earned for IBCS
Lee Jia Jing, 10	2	4	3	2	60
Desmond Ng, 13	-	3	1	-	41
Tan Ei Siang, 14	-	2	2	3	49.5
Anson Chew, 12	-	-	2	6	54
Afiq Imran, 14	-	-	-	1	32
Rohan Lee, 12	-	-	-	1	17
Girls	Meet Record	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Points Earned For IBSC
Pun Pei Jin, 10	-	5	4	-	64
Yap Li Wen, 13	2	2	2	-	37
Chong Yong Qi, 12	-	1	1	3	49
Fatin Natasya Arrfin, 17	-	1	1	-	38
Zoe Bowden, 13	-	-	4	2	49
Relays	Meet Record	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Points Earned for IBSC
U12 Boys Team A – Free Relay (Neo Xue Wen, Low Ken Ji, Rohan Lee, Anson Chew) Team A – Medley Relay (Neo Xue Wen, Lee Jia Jing, Rohan Lee, Anson Chew)	1 1	1 1			18 18
Over 13 Boys Medley Relay (Tan Ei Siang, Desmond Ng, Afiq Imran, Loo Le Bin)	-			1	12
Over 13 Girls Free Relay (Fatin Natasya, Chong Yong Qi, Yap Li Wen, Zoe Bowden) Medley Relay (Zoe Bowden, Yap Li Wen, Chong Yong Qi, Farra Dyana)	- -		1 1		14 14
Mixed Relay Team A   (Anson Chew, Pun Pei Jin, Zoe Bowden, Tan Ei Siang) Team B (Yap Li Wen, Chong Yong Qi, Lee Jia Jing, Afiq Imran)			1	1	14 12

The full results of 9th SICC Invitational Swim Meet 2013 can be downloaded here.

The swim trip was short but sweet in memories in many ways as swimmers and parents have enjoyed the journey, shopping and the friendly meet in SICC. Swimmers have the opportunity to make new friends at the pool and experience the swimming competition in a different perspective amidst the National Day celebration in Singapore.

Appreciation goes to the IBSC Support Team consisting of the supportive parents who have initiated the trip and came forward to help in managing the team, chaperoning the swimmers and driving the team to and fro Singapore.

Also thanks to the host, Singapore Island Country Club for their great hospitality and we hope to return to the invitational meet next year.

Enjoy some snapshots below.

U12 Boys Medley Relay got gold in record time. From left, Neo Xue Wen, Lee Jia Jing, rohan Lee and Anson Chew

Team A and B of the Mixed Relay event who swam to silver and bronze

Swimmers and parents enjoying the farewell lunch 

Pei Jin getting her overall champion trophy for girls 10 and under

An appreciation crystal plaque to the host

National Day celebration in Singapore at East Coast Park

More photos can be viewed from IBSC Gallery.