National Sportsboy Welson Eyes Golden Splash in SEA Games

National swimmer Welsom Sim is all smiles after receiving the National Sportsboy trophy during the Ministry of Education (MOE)-Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM)-Milo Sports Awards ceremony on Tuesday.


PUTRAJAYA: A buoyant Welson Sim has set his sights on bagging two gold medals at the upcoming SEA Games after being crowned the National Sportsboy at the Ministry of Education (MOE)-Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM)-Milo Sports Awards 2014.

The 17-year-old swimmer, who has been in sensational form since joining the national team in 2013, was rewarded for his outstanding performances in local and overseas competitions.

Welson bagged three gold medals during last year’s Perlis Sukma (Malaysia Games) and at the Asean Schools Games in Palembang.

He now aims to improve his tally of two silvers (4x100m and 4x200m freestyle) and one bronze (1,500m freestyle) during his SEA Games debut in Myanmar in 2013.


Welson, who specialises in the freestyle, is targeting a personal glory in the 400m freestyle and hopes to make it a grand double by teaming up with his team-mates to snatch the 4x200m freestyle relay title from hosts and arch-rivals Singapore.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better start this year ... a great outing in my first competition of the year at the New South Wales State Open Championships (ended on Sunday) and today, I received this prestigious award, arguably the biggest recognition you could earn at junior level,” said the jubilant Welson after receiving the award from the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Tuesday.

“This award will certainly boost my confidence as I prepare for the Games in June.

“It will be my second Games appearance and I believe two golds are within reach.

“I’m feeling really good and confident with my pace at the moment, particularly, in the 200m and 400m distance where I qualified for two ‘B finals’ in Australia last week.

And it will be a matter of time before Welson dips below 1:51 for the 200m which will set him closer to Daniel Bego’s 1:49.22 national mark.

At the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre last week, Welson posted a personal best of 1:51.10, beating his previous record of 1:51.90.

Diving prodigy Nur Dhabitah Sabri made it a memorable day for aquatics by scooping the National Sportsgirl award, thus making it yet another clean sweep for aquatics in the second successive year.

Diver Mohd Nazreen Abdullah and swimmer Yap Siew Hui won the Sportsboy and Sportsgirl awards respectively in 2013.

Dhabitah, however, was not present at the ceremony as she is currently undergoing centralised training with the diving team in China. Her mother Fazidah Jaafar, who is an officer with the MOE received the award on her behalf.

Dhabitah’s fine season in 2014 was highlighted by a third placed finish in the 10m platform synchro with Pandelela Rinong at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and claiming the 3m springboard synchro title with Wendy Ng in the Kuala Lumpur leg of the FINA World Grand Prix.

ROLL OF HONOUR

NATIONAL AWARD

Sportsboy: Welson Sim Wee Sheng (swimming)

Sportsgirl: Nur Dhabitah Sabri (diving)

MOST PROMISING AWARD

Boy: Kiven Shanmugam (squash)

Girl: Noor Ainaa Amani Ampandi (squash)

SPECIAL AWARD

Boy: Muhd Syamil Hafiy Md Adnan (taekwondo)

Girl: Loh Ying Ting (wushu)

SPECIAL EDUCATION AWARD

Boy: Abdul Latif Romly (Paragames track and field)

Girl: Felicia Mikat (Paragames track and field)

SPORTS LEADERSHIP AWARD

Datuk Mazlan Ahmad

DEDICATED TEACHER AWARD

Ting Siew Nguong (track and field)

Chang Siang Cheng (track and field)

EXCELLENT COACH AWARD

Mustafa Kamal Ali (track and field)

http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Swimming/2015/03/03/National-Sportsboy-Welson-eyes-golden-splash-in-SEA-Games/

SEA Games Winner Kimbeley Yap Injured In Accident

PETALING JAYA: Double SEA Games gold medallist Kimbeley Yap (pic) was injured in an accident at the Penchala Link while cycling home on Wednesday.

It is learnt that the bicycle she was riding on was rammed from the rear by a car believed to a Toyota Harrier.

She was rushed to the University Malaya Medical Centre for treatment and was reported to be in stable condition.

A CT scan report showed that none of her vital organs were damaged. According to doctors, she suffered a tear on her thigh and calf.

The incident occurred at 8.45am just after she had cycled past a tunnel.

Olympic 2012 - Swimming

Read more: SWIMMING: Being realistic - Other - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/swimming-being-realistic-1.109241#ixzz20wv71t7Q

SPLASHING INTO VICTORY

SPLASHING INTO VICTORY (Courtesy from ASG 2011 Website)

by Amelia Chua and Bernice Phoon, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School

It was a splashing victory for some athletes yesterday at the Swimming finals of the ASEAN School Games (ASG), with inspiring young swimmers hailing from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.


16 year old Yessy Venisia Yosaputr from Indonesia clocked a timing of 02:18:84 to claim first spot in the Women 200m Backstroke. The sweet-natured girl expressed joy over her victory, and thanked God as well as her friends and family for their constant support. Although pleased with her results, Yosaputr shared that the real celebration would only come when she was able to achieve her ultimate goal – to participate in the 2012 London Olympics next year.


Her team mate, I Gede, Siman Sudartaw, charmed the crowd with his comical actions and cheery personality. The winner of the Men 200m Backstroke proved to be the dark horse of this competition. Sudartaw moved up from the fourth position in the preliminaries to become the champion in the finals, improving by a whole 10 seconds.


The Singaporean youths did their country proud too, clinching 4 out of 8 Gold medals in the swimming finals. 14 year old Meagan Lim of the Singapore team, who won after clocking a timing of 1:04:81 for the Women 100m Butterfly, brimmed with confidence as she spoke about her excitement over her win. When quizzed what first came to her mind when the race was over, Meagan exclaimed ‘Thank God it’s over!’ She had also come in third in the 200m backstroke event.


In contrast, Teo Zhen Ren, 16, from the Singapore team had anticipated his victory before he clocked 4:09:48 in the Men 400m Freestyle. During the competition, he appeared to be gliding over the water effortlessly, and kept a steady lead from the start. ‘Perhaps we will hit the Universal Studios Singapore to celebrate,’ he grinned. He had been training in the sport for 9 years.


Joseph I Schooling of the Singapore team clinched top prize for the 400m Men Butterfly and many were taken aback by his impressive timing of 0:55:18. Schooling said that his passion for swimming began with his first contact with water at a tender age and that he was fully focused on breaking another meet record.