By Fadhli Ishak | fadhli_ishak@nst.com.my
HAT-TRICK: Wins three MSSM gold and sets eyes on Incheon, Glasgow
SELANGOR'S Nadia Adrianna Redza proved she is a star in the making after breaking two long-standing records and helping her state to a team gold at Malaysian Schools Sports Council swimming championships at the Shah Alam Aquatics Complex yesterday.
The 15-year-old lopped more than six seconds off Lew Yih Wey's (Negri Sembilan) mark of five minutes 6.31 seconds in the 400m individual medley girls' Open category, set in 2005, when she powered to victory in a time of 4:58.77s.
She then bettered Christina Loh's (Kuala Lumpur) record of 2:39.40s (2010) in the Under-15 200m breaststroke when she clocked 2:35.75s to clinch gold.
Teaming up with Carynn Kay Chan, Asmalia Filzati Redzuan and Rosalind Pang, she completed a hat-trick of wins on the day as she swam the backstroke leg of the 4x 100m medley relay which Selangor won in 4:35.87s, erasing their own record of 4:35.98s set last year.
Nadia, who started swimming at the age of five, said she was delighted with her performance but stressed that there is always room for improvement.
"It was my goal to break the record in the 400m individual medley (IM) and 200m breaststroke but I did not expect to do so well in the IM," said the International School Kuala Lumpur Student.
"There's still the 400m freestyle for me tomorrow and I am hoping that I can also finish that event on the podium though I expect the competition to be tough."
Nadia, who was drafted into the national elite squad last year, added that she is hoping to translate her fine form into a spot at the Incheon Asian Games and Glasgow Commonwealth Games later this year.
"I went to the Sea Games for the first time in Myanmar. I did not win any medals but I made the finals in all my events. It was a good experience for me.
"I do not specialise in any stroke and am hoping to make the cut for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games as my times are not that far off.
"I believe my best chances would be in the 200m breaststroke as well as the 200m and 400m IM events."
Several other long-standing meet records were bettered yesterday. The boys' Under-18 50m freestyle saw Penang's Alwyn Tan win the gold in a time of 23.85s, erasing the old mark of 24.35s, set in 1997 by Allen Ong of Perak.
The girls' Under-18 200m breaststroke saw Kuala Lumpur's Jing En Jinq En erase Jong Su Ting's (Sarawak) 1990 record of 2:43.88s when she won the gold after clocking 2:42.73s.
The boys' Under-15 200m breaststroke saw Selangor's Ng Yi Hao clinch victory in a record time of 2:27.31s (old record 2:28.50s, Lau Zheng Fong, Perak, 2007).
Read more: SWIMMING: Nadia powers Selangor - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/swimming-nadia-powers-selangor-1.535972#ixzz2xDkNKxdg
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