KUALA LUMPUR – At 36 years old, former national swimmer Cindy Ong still has what it takes to show off her swimming prowess when she beat current national swimmer Angelina Chan and 50-metre freestyle record-holder Chui Lai Kwan at the Supersharkz Short-course Sprint organised by the Darul Ehsan Aquatic Centre, Shah Alam on December 4-5.
During the 50-metre freestyle 18 and over category, the mother of three finished first with a time of 26.72 seconds, followed by 30-year-old Lai Kwan at 26.83.
While national swimmer Angelina led the 15-17 category, she still trailed Cindy by 0.08 seconds after finishing at 26.80.
Speaking with The Vibes, Cindy said she never planned to stop making waves in the aquatics industry since her last national representation in the 2001 SEA Games.
Her next move is to compete in the 97th Malaysia Open Athletics Championships which will be held on March 4-6.
However, based on her recent communication with the Malaysian Swimming Federation, Cindy was informed that she was no longer allowed to compete in the tournament despite meeting the merit requirement.
“Now, they are telling me that masters swimmers are to be excluded from participating in the Malaysia Open, which is weird because this has never happened before,” Cindy said.
She was also informed by the federation “to not waste my time by sending in an appeal letter to participate in the Malaysia Open.”
“Based on merit, I’m qualified to compete in the Malaysia Open,” she added.
“To qualify, you must meet at least 500 Fina points. But I have 700 points.”
In order to compete in the Malaysia Open, an athlete must have a minimum of 500 Fina points. The Fina Point Scoring assigns point values to swimming performances to allow for comparison of results among different events.
Competing in the Malaysia Open would grant Cindy, who is currently the world’s number one 50-metre freestyle swimmer in the women’s 35-39 category, the opportunity to qualify for the Hanoi SEA Games happening in May this year.
“In the 2019 Fina World Masters Championships in Gwangju, my time was 28.68. To get to the SEA Games, I need to clock 28.38, which is only 0.3 seconds away.
“I hope the national swimming federation gives me the chance to prove myself, instead of just turning me away for no apparent reason.
“If I make it to Hanoi, I know I could do my best to bring a good name to my country,” said Cindy. - The Vibes, February 3, 2022
