The Star : Christina, Jironi win Olympian of the Year awards

BY AFTAR SINGH

Christina Loh Yen Ling and Mohd Jironi Riduan with their mock cheques after winning the OCM Coca-Cola Olympian of the Year awards.

KUALA LUMPUR: Teenager Christina Loh Yen Ling wants to become the top breaststroke swimmer in the country after winning the OCM Coca-Cola Olympian of the Year award.

The 19-year-old Penangite won the award courtesy of her two gold medals – in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events – at the Myanmar SEA Games last December.

Middle distance runner Mohd Jironi Riduan, who won the 800m and 1,500m in Myanmar, received the award in the male category.

Christina and Jironi of Sarawak each received RM10,000 and a medal.

Christina was thrilled to win her first national award.

“I never expected to win the Olympian award. It is a dream come true for me.

“Winning the award has inspired me to replace Olympian Siow Yi Ting as the top breaststroke swimmer in the country,” Christina said after receiving the award and mock cheque from Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja'afar.

Yi Ting, who featured in three Olympics – Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) – retired last year.

Christina said that the pressure was on her to win gold medals in the SEA Games after Yi Ting's retirement.

“But I’m more than pleased with my performance ... and winning two golds in the Games.

“I also want to qualify for my second Commonwealth Games (in Glasgow in July) and also the Asian Games (in Incheon in September),” said Christina, who featured in the New Delhi Commonwealth as well as the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010.

Christina, who is trained by coach Paul Birmingham, admitted that it would be challenging to surpass the qualifying mark.

“Both the Commonwealth and Asian Games times are faster than my personal best. So, I have to train much harder to beat the marks,” said Christina, who has personal bests of 1:10.25 and 2:32.56 in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events respectively.

The qualifying times for the Commonwealth Games are 1:09.25 and 2:28.48 in the 100m and 200m breaststroke respectively, which are the sixth placing times of the 2010 Games.

The qualifying mark for the Asian Games is 1:07.98 and 2:25.40, which is the third placing of the 2010 Games.

The 27-year-old Jironi said that winning his first national award was a great way to bid farewell to athletics.

“The Myanmar Games was my last Games and I did well to win two golds and also the Olympian award.

“I have switched my focus now to the marathon,” said Jironi.

NAG 2014 KL Swim Team

Following the conclusion of 2014 PRAKL Age Group Swimming Championship on 11 Jan 2014, short-listed swimmers have been identified to represent Kuala Lumpur Swim Team. These swimmers will be eligible to participate in the forth-coming 50th MILO/PRAM National Age-Group Swimming Championships 2014 scheduled to be held at Bukit Jalil Aquatic Complex, Kuala Lumpur on 11 -  13 April 2014.

Congratulations to the IBSC swimmers who have made it to the NAG 2014 KL Swim Team. See the full list of the KL Swim Team 2014 here.

Please contact Mr Wong Kam Yuen, the KL Swim Team Manager for your Letter of Offer/Acceptance cum entries. Deadline for acceptance/entries is 3 March 2014.


See more details of 50th NAG 2014.

Good Luck!

MSSWP Swimming Championship 2014

Kindly note that the MSSWP Swimming Championship 2014 for school swimmers in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur will be held as follows :-

Date    : 25 - 26 February, 2014 ( Tues - Wed)
Time   : 8.00 am each day
Venue : Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur, Bandar Tun Razak

Download MSSWP 2014 Program Book here.

The Order of Events are as follows :-

Good Luck!

The NST : SPORTCHECK: Games to move outside Klang Valley in 2016

By Fadhli Ishak

THE Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning Games (Sukipt) will for a first time be heading outside the Klang Valley in 2016 but may continue to allow the use of short-term foreign exchange students despite the furore they caused at the competition last week.

Sukipt came to a close at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus in Shah Alam yesterday with a staggering 98 records broken and hosts UiTM taking the overall title for a first time with a haul of 64 gold, 44 silver and 34 bronze medals.

However, the champions use of foreign exchange students, although legitimate, had caused a number of other universities to raise the issue with the organisers and the press.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) finished runners up with 53 gold, 31 silver and 35 bronze while Universiti Malaya were third on 16-11-17.

Higher Education Sector sports division secretary Hazally Jali said no decision has been made on the use of foreigners for the next edition and will only be studied in detail at the Games post mortem this week.

He also disclosed that a number of potential hosts for the next edition of the biennial competition have already been identified.

"Sukipt will from now be held in the Klang Valley in alternate editions which means that we will be taking it outside KL for the first time in two years," said Hazally.

"The issue regarding these exchange students is not as simple as it looks and needs to be looked at in detail. There are both positives and negatives that come from their participation.

"With them being part of the Games they raise the level of competition and it gives our athletes the chance to experience competing against foreign opposition.

"These are also the same athletes we will be facing at competitions such as the Asean University Games (AUG) when they return to their own universities.

"This gives us a chance to benchmark ourselves and also their (foreign) capabilities prior to such tournaments."

Hazally added that the overall performance of Malaysian University athletes at Sukipt is a step in the right direction in terms of preparing for Malaysia's title defence at the Palembang AUG in December but made it clear that there is much work to be done if they are to again emerge Asean champions.

Malaysia had won the AUG on foreign soil for a first time in Laos two years ago.

"The number of Games records broken shows that there is a positive improvement in the performance of the athletes but we can never afford to be complacent or content with what we have.

"Our AUG squads will be selected from the athletes that performed well here (Sukipt) and will be further trained and prepared for the Games by sending them to compete at events such as the Malaysia-Indonesia (Sukmalindo) and Malaysia-Thailand (Sukmathai) Games later this year."

As expected, UiTM long jumper Lukman Hakim Ramlan and swimmer Khoo Cai Lin of Taylors University were selected as the sportsman and sportswoman of the Games.

Cai Lin, who had just returned from a three-week injury break prior to Sukipt, was in dominating form in the pool and managed a commendable haul of six gold, three silver and two bronze, while Lukman Hakim's leap of 7.53m not only set a Games record but more importantly qualified him for the Incheon Asian Games later this year.

Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh with the students and officials at the Sukipt closing ceremony yesterday. Pic by Mohd Asri Saifuddin Mamat

The NST : SUKIPT: Lai Kwan still the one to beat

By Fadhli Ishak

UNIVERSITI Putra Malaysia's (UPM) Chui Lai Kwan may have become a forgotten figure since she left the national setup under controversial circumstances almost three years ago but she proved she is still a top class talent at the Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning Games (Sukipt) yesterday.

The former Sea Games gold medallist bettered her own meet record of 27.96 seconds en route to clinching the women's 50m freestyle gold in 26.94s at the Darul Ehsan Aquatic Complex yesterday.

She also took silver in the 200m butterfly (2:51.43s) after placing second behind Universiti Teknologi Mara's (UiTM) Indonesia foreign exchange student Kathriana Mella Gustianjani (2:34.41s).

Lai Kwan ended her second and likely final Sukipt outing with one gold, three silver and one bronze.

The 24-year-old, who bagged an astonishing 13 gold medals amidst a weaker field to subsequently be crowned sportswoman of the Games two years ago, said she was nevertheless happy with her performance and stressed that she was still hungry to compete on the international stage.

"The 50m free is my favourite event and is what matters most to me. I did not win as many medals this year but overall it was a decent outing for me," said the 50m freestyle national record holder.

"I am not interested in joining the national team anymore as I am happy training on my own but I still do want to compete for Malaysia.

"I want to do well in future competitions and hopefully achieve the qualifying times for the Asian Games. I hope the national body will be fair and select swimmers, from both within and outside the national squad, on merit."

Lai Kwan had quit the national team after a dispute with the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia over a leave application in 2011.

Meanwhile, Caroline Chan of Sunway University set a new Games record in the women's 100m backstroke when she won the event in 1:10.93s (old record 1:18.07s, Lai Kwan), while distance specialist Khoo Cai Lin (Taylors University) took the 1,500 freestyle title in 18:55.77s.

The men's events saw Inti International College's Chan Yang better his own record of 24.96s in the 50m freestyle when he clocked 24.14s to defend his title in the event.

UiTM's Gede Siman Sudartawa (Indonesia, exchange student) shaved more than seven seconds of David Hoh's (Taylors) 100m backstroke record of 1:04.84s en route to winning in 56.75s.

Liong Jee Xerc (Kolej Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman) emerged victorious in the 800m freestyle after clocking 10:51.63s and also took the 200m butterfly in a new meet record of 2:21.35s (old record 2:30.53s, Ian Leondy Bell, USM).

UiTM won the men's and women's 4x100m medley relays in 4:03.73s and 5:11.51s respectively.

National shooter Jonathan Wong Guanjie (UPM) proved his pedigree by winning the men's 10m air pistol gold after firing 195.4 in the elimination format final at the Subang Shooting Range.

His combined scores with teammates Jasmi Mohmmad Zin and Liew Tack Fai of 1,674 also gave UPM the team gold.

UPM took two more gold through fencing after Husnul Ariq Bakri and Natasha Ezzra Abu Bakar took the men's sabre and women's foil individual titles respectively.

In the men's karate kumite events, UTM's Karthik Krishnan (Under-55kg), Politeknik Selangor's Deventiren Ananthan (Under-60kg) and UPM's Uriel Yu En French (Under-67kg) all emerged winners in their respective weight classes while the women's category saw Unitar's Nisha Alagasan (Under-55kg) and UPM's Mathiaviani Murugeesan (Under-61kg) come out winners.

With only two days of competition left, hosts UiTM are inching ever closer to the overall title and ended the day as comfortable leaders with 48 gold, 32 silver and 24 bronze. Defending champions UPM are second (37-28-30) while Universiti Malaya are third (13-8-12).

Chui Lai Kwan (left) after winning gold in the 50m freestyle with bronze medallist Leung Chii Lin at the at the Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning Games (Sukipt) in Shah Alam yesterday. Pic by Osman Adnan

Read more: SUKIPT: Lai Kwan still the one to beat - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/sukipt-lai-kwan-still-the-one-to-beat-1.483756#ixzz2tHCHgoz0

50th MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitational Age Group Swimming Championships 2014

Please note that the 50th MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitational Age Group Swimming Championships 2014 will be held as follows :-

Date	:  11 to 13 April, 2014
Venue	:  National Aquatic Centre, Bukit Jalil, K.L.
Organiser	:  Association of Swimming Union Malaysia (ASUM)
Rules	:  FINA Rules Apply
Competition Format	:  Timed Finals basis
Age of Reckoning	:  As of 1 January 2014
Entries	:  No limit to the number of swimmers per event
Closing Date	:  5.00 pm on 15 March, 2014

As with last year's format, the competition is divided into 2 categories, for which swimmers will be awarded separately :

(i)  Malaysia Invitational Age Group (MAG Open) and

(ii) Malaysia Age Group Closed (MAG Closed) - for Malaysians only

Please note that foreigners residing in Malaysia must compete in MAG Open. Kindly indicate citizenship status should you intend to compete in MAG Closed.

This competition has also been sanctioned by FINA as the qualifying event for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. See the criteria of Qualification System for 2nd Youth Olympic Games - Nanjing 2014.

The order of events are as follows :-

Please download full invite for the 50th NAG here.