Jinq En splashes her way to new 100m record

MALAYSIA’S swimming sensation Phee Jinq En (pix) kept her pre-race promise by retaining the women’s 100m breaststroke gold en route to smashing the eight-year old SEA Games record in the women’s 100m Breastroke at the National Aquatic Centre last night.

Jinq En clocked 1:09.00s to renew the old record of 1:09.82s held by Siow Yi Ting since the 2009 edition hosted by Laos in Vientianne.

”I feel the pressure is off my shoulder now because I was under a lot of stress to do well since I was the defending champion and the expectation from the home crowd was high. I am happy that I won and made the local fans happy but the SEA Games record was a bonus. So, its double joy for me,” she told reporters.

National athlete, Grace Wong Xiu Mei has set a new women’s SEA Games hammer throw record with a 59.24m heave at National Stadium erasing the old record of 56.57m set by Mingkamon Koomphon of Thailand in Singapore.

Defending champion Mingkamon settled for the silver after recording 56.17m, while her compatriot Panwat Gimstrang took the bronze with 56.06m.

Grace also dedicated her gold medal and new record to her late mother, Lina Awaru of Papua New Guinea who passed away on April 14 when the 17-year-old athlete was undergoing twomonth training in South Korea.

The Malaysian karate squad clinched two gold, one silver and a bronze on third and final day of the karate competition yesterday.

The trio of Emmanuel Leong, Hoe Thomson and Lim Chee Wei beat Indonesia 5-0 the men’s team kata final to capture the first gold. Vietnam took the bronze.

Syakilla Salni Jerry Krisnan, Shree Sharmini, M Mathivani and P Madhuri then went on to edge Vietnam 2-1 in the women’s Kumite team event find to deliver the second gold.

In the women’s kata team final, Celine Lee Xin Yi, Ariana Lim Junyi and Cherlene Cheung Xue Lin lost 2-3 to the Vietnamese team and had to be satisfied with the silver.

However, the men’s Kumite team had to share the bronze with the Indonesians after both teams lost in the semifinals.

Malaysia defended the women’s team gold in the bowling competition yesterday. National bowlers Shalin Zulkifli, Esther Cheah Mei Lan, Natasha Roslan, Sin Li Jane, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman downed 6,264 pins overall, overcoming Singapore’s team who amassed 6,203 pins.

The petanque squad swept the men’s doubles gold today to win their second gold medal and surpass the initial target at the Pudu Ulu Recreation Park yesterday. Saiful Bahri Musmin/Syed Akmal Fikri Syed Ali scored a 13-0 victory over Thailand’s Piyabut Chamchoi/Sunchai Chueanchuea.

The national women’s lawn bowls squad delivered the first gold medal in the sports at the at the National Lawn Bowls Centre in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

The national women’s fours team comprising Norhashimah Ismail, Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi, Nur Fidrah Noh and Nurul Alyani Jamil defeated Philippines who fielded Marisa Baronda, Nancy Toyco, Nenita Tabiano and Sharon Hauters 24-14. – Bernama