Latest news with #KhiewHoeYean


New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian athletes show promise at WUG despite missing target
ESSEN: Malaysia wrapped up their campaign at the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games (WUG) in Germany with just two medals — a silver in swimming and a bronze in badminton. Khiew Hoe Yean ended a 34-year wait for Malaysia in the pool by bagging silver in the men's 400m freestyle, while Wong Ling Ching delivered bronze in the women's singles badminton event. Hoe Yean's silver was the country's first swimming medal at the WUG or Universiade since Jeffrey Ong's silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 1991 Sheffield Games. Malaysia sent a 64-strong contingent to compete in six of the 19 sports contested at this year's edition, held across Duisburg and surrounding cities. The modest two-medal haul fell well short of the seven-medal target. Still, there were encouraging signs, particularly in the pool. Hoe Yean not only won silver but also helped set a new national record in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay alongside Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, Lim Yin Chuen, and Tan Khai Xin. Hoe Yean also broke the national mark in his individual 400m race. Arvin Shaun posted a personal best in the men's 100m freestyle, while in athletics, Nurul Ashikin Abas (women's triple jump), the men's 4x100m, and women's 4x400m relay teams all recorded season-best times. Six Malaysians made it to the finals in their events, four of them in athletics. Among them was Azeem Fahmi, who finished fourth in the men's 100m final. The 21-year-old flag bearer and debutant showed his potential in the blue riband event but also learned how narrow the margins are at the top. The women's recurve archery team also made history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time. Despite missing the medal target, the effort, hunger and composure shown by Malaysia's young athletes against world-class opposition were widely praised. The experience gained is expected to serve them well as they build toward bigger international competitions. The Games ended with a vibrant closing ceremony at Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord. Japan topped the overall medal table with 34 golds, followed by China (30) and the United States (28). The next edition of the WUG will be hosted by Chungcheong, South Korea, in 2027. - BERNAMA


The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
No splash in the pool as Hoe Yean and divers fall short at World C'ships
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia made no splash at the World Aquatics Championships after Khiew Hoe Yean (pic) was far from making it to the 400m freestyle finals in Singapore yesterday. Hoe Yean could only manage a time of 3:51.11s at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, which saw him finish ninth in the third heat, 28th overall.


New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Travel-weary Hoe Yean determined to shrug off jet lag
KUALA LUMPUR: A jet-lagged Khiew Hoe Yean settled for 28th in the men's 400 metre freestyle preliminaries at the Singapore World Aquatics Championships today (July 27). Hoe Yean, who just arrived from the World University Games (WUG) in Germany via Sepang yesterday, clocked three minutes and 51.11 seconds to place 28th from 43 swimmers in the event and thus missed the top-eight cut for the final. His timing at the OCBC Aquatics Centre was some way off the new national record of 3:47.38s he clocked en route to winning silver at WUG in Berlin last week. His silver ended Malaysia's 34-year wait for a swimming medal in the competition. The 22-year-old admitted he was not at his best today but is determined to bounce back in his remaining events in Singapore. "Coming here (Singapore) from WUG has been tough. I just got here yesterday (July 26) evening and had not been able to swim for the past few days because the pool was closed in Berlin after the meet," said Hoe Yean on social media. "The timing (today) could have been better but I felt like the effort was there. Even though I got left behind in the last 100m, I still made sure I pushed. I think it was pretty good. "I still have a few more events to go. Hopefully I will get better as the days progress as I am also a bit jet-lagged. "I don't want to give myself an excuse. I will try and get rid of that (jet lag) as soon as possible and move on to the next race." Hoe Yean, who has been Malaysia's most outstanding swimmer in recent seasons, is also expected to race the 100m, 200m and 800m freestyle events in Singapore. Meanwhile, divers Elvis Clement-Lee Yiat Qing finished 11th from 12 divers in the mixed 10m platform synchronised final in Singapore. The duo's dives scored 42.00, 42.00, 62.10, 41.28 and 60.48 for a 247.86 total. As expected, China's Zhu Yonxin-Xie Peiling emerged victorious on 323.04. North Korean duo Choe Wi-hyon and Jo Jin-mi came in a close second (322.98) while Aleksandr Bondar-Anna Konanykhina - competing under the neutral athletes banner - took bronze (311.88). The men's 1m springboard preliminaries saw Yong Rui Jie (283.90) and Nurqayyum Nazim (274.35) settling for 41st and 44th respectively from 59 starters in the event. Tomorrow (July 28), Nurqayyum-Rui Jie will compete in the men's 3m springboard synchronised event while Pandelela Rinong-Yiat Qing will take to the pool for the women's 10m platform synchronised event. Hoe Yean will see action in the men's 200m freestyle event tomorrow.


New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
No 'finish' line for Hoe Yean
SEPANG: Breaking national records is a career milestone for most athletes, but for Khiew Hoe Yean, it is just another step towards entering the world-class level. With over 10 national records to his name, the swimmer does not measure success by numbers alone but focuses on steady, consistent growth with every competition, stroke by stroke. "I just want to get better every day. Not setting a limit is a good thing. I'm still chasing that world-class level, just a little bit away after breaking this new record. "How many times have I broken records? I have no idea. Maybe more than 10, but not more than 20," he told reporters upon arrival with the national swimming team from the Rhine Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games (WUG) in Germany at KL International Airport (KLIA), here, last night. At 2025 WUG, Hoe Yean carved out a historic milestone by clinching the silver medal in the men's 400-metre freestyle by breaking his own national record of 3 minutes 48.36 seconds by clocking 3:47.38s, thus delivering Malaysia's first medal at this edition of the Games. Hoe Yean's achievement also ended Malaysia's 34-year medal drought in swimming at the WUG, the last being Jeffrey Ong's silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 1991 Sheffield Games. He then helped the Malaysian quartet, with Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, Lim Yin Chuen and Tan Khai Xin, to clock 7 minutes 19.66 seconds to finish sixth in the final. Despite the placing, the team broke the national record in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. His next stop is the World Aquatics Championships 2025 in Singapore, starting tomorrow, for the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay. Looking ahead, Hoe Yean also sets his sights on the 2025 Thailand SEA Games in December by aiming to deliver more gold medals. "I think I'll be shortlisted as well. So let's hope for the best and let's get more gold in SEA games," he said.


The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Khiew Hoe Yean aims for world-class swimming after record-breaking wins
BREAKING national records is a career milestone for most athletes, but for Khiew Hoe Yean, it is just another step towards entering the world-class level. With over 10 national records to his name, the swimmer does not measure success by numbers alone but focuses on steady, consistent growth with every competition, stroke by stroke. 'I just want to get better every day. Not setting a limit is a good thing. I'm still chasing that world-class level, just a little bit away after breaking this new record. 'How many times have I broken records? I have no idea. Maybe more than 10, but not more than 20,' he told reporters upon arrival with the national swimming team from the Rhine Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games (WUG) in Germany at KL International Airport (KLIA), here, last night. At 2025 WUG, Hoe Yean carved out a historic milestone by clinching the silver medal in the men's 400-metre freestyle by breaking his own national record of 3 minutes 48.36 seconds by clocking 3:47.38s, thus delivering Malaysia's first medal at this edition of the Games. Hoe Yean's achievement also ended Malaysia's 34-year medal drought in swimming at the WUG, the last being Jeffrey Ong's silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle at the 1991 Sheffield Games. He then helped the Malaysian quartet, with Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, Lim Yin Chuen and Tan Khai Xin, to clock 7 minutes 19.66 seconds to finish sixth in the final. Despite the placing, the team broke the national record in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. His next stop is the World Aquatics Championships 2025 in Singapore, starting tomorrow, for the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay. Looking ahead, Hoe Yean also sets his sights on the 2025 Thailand SEA Games in December by aiming to deliver more gold medals. 'I think I'll be shortlisted as well. So let's hope for the best and let's get more gold in SEA games,' he said - BERNAMA