The NST : Smashing show by Hoe Yean

 By Kng Zheng Guan - June 13, 2021 @ 9:00am

Khiew Hoe Yean on his way to setting a national record in the 200m backstroke at the Malaysian Open yesterday.

Youngster Khiew Hoe Yean was not even born when Lim Keng Liat set the 200m backstroke national record at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

But it could be the start of a new era after the 18-year-old rose superbly to smash Keng Liat's long-standing 23-year record.

Hoe Yean, who only turns 19 in September, came flying out of the blocks despite being the sole competitor in the event at the Malaysian Open at the National Aquatic Centre, Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The Kuala Lumpur-born kept his focus from start to finish as he finished with an excellent time of 2:00.08 to rewrite Keng Liat's record of 2:00.94.

To make it even sweeter, Hoe Yean also dipped under the Olympic Selection Time (OST) of 2:01.03 to further boost his chances of an Olympic debut in Tokyo next month.

It was certainly a coming of age performance from Hoe Yean, who first came to attention when he won seven gold medals at the Asean Schools Games in 2019.

He had also grabbed a bronze in the 200m backstroke event at the Philippines Sea Games the same year.

It is also the second event that Hoe Yean has met the OST

standard, having also hit

the mark in the 400m freestyle event on Friday.

"I definitely did not expect this since I was the only one in the pool. However, I knew I could break the national record as I had done a similar pace in training," said Hoe Yean, who also smashed the Malaysian Open record of 2:02.68, set by India's Srihari Nataraj in 2019.

"But it is still a surprise as I have not swum competitively for more than a year.

"As for the Olympics, I'm not sure if I will get to go, but I would love the opportunity."

Hoe Yean, who also bagged eight gold medals in the national age-group championships last year, has two more events to make a further impression — the 200m and 800m freestyle events today.

Meanwhile, Welson Sim grabbed his second win of the competition even though he was far from his best.

The Sarawak-born came up tops in the 100m butterfly in 56.38s to add to his 100m freestyle gold.

RESULTS

Men's 50m breaststroke: 1 Ng Jing Fu 29.79sec, 2 Hii Puong Wei 29.87, 3 Nuri Saadan Khaulid 31.79;

50m freestyle: 1 Hii Puong Wei 24.47, 2 Samuel Ng 24.76, 3 Yap Yong Jie 25.51;

100m butterfly: 1 Welson Sim 56.38, 2 Low Zheng Yong 56.90, 3 Jordan Yip 56.94;

200m backstroke: 1 Khiew Hoe Yean 2:00.08;

400m IM: 1 Sebastian Soon 4:31.69, 2 Low Zheng Yong 4:40.91, 3 Anselm Lee 4:54.77.

Women's 50m freestyle: 1 Angelina Chan 27.62;

100m butterfly: 1 Ong Yong Qi 1:04.74;

200m backstroke: 1 Nessa Yip 2:33.53;

400m IM: 1 Ong Yong Qi 5:09.36, 2 Kelly Teo 5:12.49.