Welson and Jinq En Splash Their Way To World Championship

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- National swimmers Welson Sim (right) and Phee Jinq En have booked their tickets to FINA World Championships 2015 in Kazan, Russia. The duo qualified after winning their respective events in the Malaysian Open Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre, Bukit Jalil, here Friday. Welson,18, booked his berth after winning the men's 200m freestyle with a time of 1:49.67s, en route to his first World Championship. The 'B' qualifying mark set for the men's 200m freestyle was 1:52.16s. "I am happy with the result. I think I can better the time (to match or better the national record) in the next competition. "Actually, I did not expect to win and set a new competition record. I've been training hard to gain a place in the next SEA Games." The time set by the Kuching born swimmer today was just 0.45s behind the national record of 1:49.22s set by Daniel Bego in 2009. Welson hopes he could win the gold medal in his favourite event, the 400m freestyle at Singapore SEA Games in June. He won a bronze medal in the 1,500m freestyle and two silver medals in relay events (4x100m and 4 x 200m) and the freestyle at Myuanmar SEA Games. Meanwhile, Jinq En splashed her way to the women's 50m breaststroke gold with a time of 32.38s. Second place was Erika Kong of Sarawak (32.47s) while Jamie Yeung of Hong Kong (33.25s) came in third. Jinq En,17, surpassed the 'B' qualifying mark of 32.60s for the world championship. "It is a surprise. I did not expect to win the gold medal and set a new competition record. "The World Championship will be my first. It will be a good exposure to compete with the best in the world," said the Selangor lass. Jinq En's time in the event rewrote the competition record set by Christina Loh of Kuala Lumpur in 2011.(photoBernama) -- BERNAMA