KUALA LUMPUR – National swimmer Phee Jinq En said she hopes she will be allowed to take part in more international-level championships to gauge her real capability as she seeks to get on the podium in the Cambodia SEA Games from May 5-17.
Jinq En, who is the only national woman swimmer to qualify on merit for the biennial games in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events, is worried as she has only taken part in one competition this year, namely the 2023 Malaysia Open Swimming Championships.
The 25-year-old, who has won gold in three editions of the SEA Games, could not hide her disappointment at the lack of international outings due to financial constraints and said that every national athlete ought to be given a chance to do so.
“I think we need to be exposed to a higher level of competition around the world. I hope the National Sports Council will provide us with the necessary support to compete overseas.
“For example, I underwent training in the United States from 2016 to 2021. I was always exposed to major championships and that’s why I was able to deliver the goods,” she said today.
Jinq En said that after completing her studies in the US and returning home, she needed almost one and a half years to get used to training in Malaysia.
Having trained under Chris Martin in the US, she said that the training programme there involved a group of competitive swimmers, which helped them to be mentally and physically strong, and learn to bounce back from defeats.
Jing En added that it is different in Malaysia as she trains alone in Bukit Jalil, although she admitted that it had not affected her performance, judging by the way she qualified on merit for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and 2023 SEA Games, and bagged gold in the 2023 Malaysia Open.
“I am confident I am on the right track although my time now does not meet the qualifying criteria for the 2024 Paris Olympics. I am not disappointed because I have made some progress. I’m doing much better than last year and all I need to do is train harder.
“My goal is to always achieve my personal best so that I can beat my national record. The same as in (the) Hanoi (SEA Games last year), I am definitely aiming for the medals (in Cambodia)… so I will do the best I can,” she said.
Jinq En holds two national records, having clocked 31.40s in the women’s 50m breaststroke event in the 2019 Philippines SEA Games and 1m08.40s in the 100m breaststroke at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
In the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games, Jinq En had to be content with a silver medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke. – Bernama, March 30, 2023
