Arya News - Key Singaporean swimmers like Quah Jing Wen and Zheng Wen lost their long-held titles in the 200m butterfly and 100m backstroke events respectively.
BANGKOK – If Team Singapore had not sensed the danger before these SEA Games, they were in for a rude shock on Day 1 of the swimming competition on Dec 10 at the Huamark Aquatic Centre as rivals from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines loomed large in the rearview mirror before overtaking them in events they have long dominated.
While they have topped the swimming medal standings since 2005 and have done so by healthy margins in the past decade, national swimming head coach Gary Tan acknowledged the tough competition his team face as he called these Games the most challenging one since the 2013 meet when they won 12 out of 32 events.
He said: “The girls, especially, were coming into something that was tougher than the last few editions. The competition has gotten better and tighter. There’s a lot of swimmers coming through from different countries… but we will take it in our stride and fight every single day.”
After Vietnam’s Tran Hung Nguyen extended his reign in the men’s individual medley by winning the 200m race for a fourth consecutive time in 2min 2.11sec, few would have predicted the shocks that were to follow in the women’s 200m butterfly final in which Singapore’s Quah Jing Wen had won for four straight editions since 2017.
But she wilted in the last 50 metres to finish third in 2:13.88, as Thailand’s Kamonchanok Kwanmuang (2:11.78) and Vietnam’s Vo Thi My Tien (2:12.10) reeled her in.
Four-time women’s 200m butterfly defending champion Quah Jing Wen finished third in 2min 13.88sec. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
The 24-year-old, who broke down in tears in the mixed zone, said in between sobs: “This event is very special to me. It was my first SEA Games gold, and ever since, I’ve been chasing a certain high that I just can’t seem to reach for this event.
“I just give my everything, and any time people ask me how it feels after a race when it goes this badly, when you have so much expectations, it’s just very hard to put into words.”
“At this point, I don’t even try to control myself because this is just how it feels to give your entire life to something and not have it pay back even though you think you deserve it,” she added.
“It’s just sports, and it’s just really hard. This is the reality of it – it’s not always glamour and glitz.”
Meanwhile, Kamonchanok, 20, told The Straits Times she was inspired by the raucous home crowd which drowned out the deejay’s Thai pop songs with their drums, loudhailers and cheers reserved for their local swimmers. Amid the great noise, she said she could hear her mother rooting for her in the stands.
She added: “The Singapore swimmer is my idol because she has won so many times. But I’m so excited to swim in my country at the SEA Games for the first time.”
Later, Jing Wen’s brother Zheng Wen’s 10-year, five-edition winning run in the men’s 100m backstroke also ended when he finished third in 56.04sec, behind Indonesia’s Jason Donovan Yusuf (55.08) and Farrel Tangkas (55.89).
Quah Zheng Wen finished third in the men’s 100m backstroke in 56.04sec. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
The night of upsets culminated in the loosening of the Republic’s stranglehold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle final which they have also won since 2015.
The Philippines team, powered by former Canada swimmer and Olympic medallist Kayla Sanchez, romped to victory in 3:44.26, ahead of Singapore’s Gan Ching Hwee, Ashley Lim, Jing Wen and her older sister Ting Wen (3:46.53) and the Vietnamese team (3:47.47).
Born to Filipino parents, Sanchez, the 24-year-old who contributed to the historic relay gold for the Philippines in her first SEA Games race, said: “This is very special – my whole family is here. I’m very excited to make my country proud. It was much more fun for my first race to be a relay. It wasn’t just me, it was a team effort and they made me less nervous.”
On the other hand, Ting Wen was left to reflect with a tinge of regret.
The 33-year-old said: “What made us good 20 years ago was having really, really strong teams around South-east Asia. That’s how we started getting more competitive also, and I think that’s what we are going to see, and that’s great, because I think that will push our younger ones to swim even better.”
It was not all doom and gloom for Singapore as their younger athletes won their first swimming golds at this meet through Mikkel Lee, who clocked a personal best of 48.65sec in the men’s 100m freestyle ahead of Zheng Wen (49.45) and Vietnam’s Tran Van Nguyen Quoc (50.02), before Letitia Sim set a Games record of 31.03 to reclaim the women’s 50m breaststroke title from home favourite Jenjira Srisaard (31.52).
Bronze was shared between another Thai Saovanee Boonamphai and Malaysia’s Phee Jinq En after both clocked 31.71.
Lee, who turns 23 on Dec 12, said: “I’m glad to see the second half of my race get better. I’ve had many swims at 49.1, so it’s great to get a little bit of a breakthrough.
“The tough part for me being based in the US racing is… it’s been a while since I raced long course in the 100 free. Actually, leading up to this, I was a little bit worried about it. My training was not at its best, there’s a lot of loopholes in it and things I wanted to fix, but I’m glad to see that my work has paid off.”
Sim, a 22-year-old who is defending champion in the women’s 100m and 200m breaststroke, added: “I’m pretty happy with the time, because I usually struggle to get up and go with the 50, and it being my first event of the meet. It gives me more confidence being able to go up and race like that in one of the events I’m not greatest at.”
Letitia Sim added a second gold in the women’s 50m breaststroke in a Games record 31.03.sec. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Despite seeing the famous Quah siblings miss out on gold as the national swimmers ended the night with two medals of each colour, Tan refused to press the panic button and insisted they will bounce back.
He said: “The Quahs have definitely served our nation well, and let’s remember this is just Day 1. We need to re-strategise and come back with a lot more conviction in the way we race. The coaches and I are going to go back and re-assess how we are going to make sure we will pull through a lot better in the next couple of days of competition.”
With contributions from taekwondo, ju-jitsu, canoeing and cue sports, Singapore took five golds, four silvers and four bronzes to add to the two badminton team bronzes they clinched on Dec 8.