Swimmer Arvin misses Asian Games final by just over one second

KUALA LUMPUR: The national swimmers endured a tough start at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games today, failing to reach the finals in all three events at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

In the men's 100m freestyle heats, Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal and Lim Yin Chuen both failed to break the 50-second mark required to reach the top eight.

Arvin was the highest-placed Malaysian, finishing 14th among 36 swimmers in 50.31 seconds - just over a second behind Thailand's Pongpanod Trithan, who took the final qualifying spot in 49.03.

Yin Chuen finished 21st in 50.65 seconds, off his personal best of 49.73.

China's Olympic champion and world record-holder Pan Zhanle set the fastest qualifying time in 48.07, ahead of South Korea's Hwang Sunwoo (48.13) and Kim Youngbeom (48.34).

Arvin and Yin Chuen will have further chances to make an impact this week, notably in the sprint relays alongside Olympian Khiew Hoe Yean.

Hoe Yean also opened his campaign today, clocking 56.81 to finish 18th overall out of 30 competitors in the men's 100m backstroke heats.

Defending champion and Asian record-holder Xu Jiayu of China comfortably topped the qualifiers in 52.63, followed by Japan's Hidekazu Takehara (54.22) and South Korea's Lee Juho (54.43).

The 100m backstroke served as a warm-up for 24-year-old Hoe Yean before he tackles a heavy schedule featuring his main middle-distance freestyle and 200m backstroke events, as well as relay commitments.

In the men's 200m individual medley (IM), national record-holder Tan Khai Xin finished sixth in Heat 2 and 17th overall in 2:04.64, roughly three seconds off the qualification cut-off.

It was also a steep learning curve for 18-year-old debutant Goh Li Jie, who clocked 2:13.53 in his heat before being disqualified for a stroke infraction.

Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita topped the 200m IM heats in 1:58.56, ahead of compatriot Yumeki Kojima (1:59.91) and China's reigning Olympic champion Wang Shun (2:00.04).

The Malaysian swimmers will now focus on the remainder of their programmes, with key individual races and relay events still ahead.