KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be counting on up-and-coming swimmers Aslan Adnan and Chelsea Ning Lee to deliver the goods when the inaugural South East Asian Open Water Swimming Championships 2023 (SEAOWSC) takes place at the Putrajaya Lake on Feb 2-4.
Aslan, 15, and Chelsea, 18, are seen as the nation's best bets for the podium in their respective boys' under-15 and girls' under-19 categories.
A total of four age-group categories - under-15, under-17, under-19 and open (20 years and above) - will be on offer at SEAOWSC.
Malaysian swimmers will be competing in all categories, except for the open.
Both the young swimmers are highly rated. They competed at the FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Seychelles last year (Sep).
Chelsea intends to use the SEAOWSC as a stepping stone. Her dream is to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
"SEAOWSC will be the first official championships in the Asean region. I will be competing alongside my teammates and we intend to make full use of this opportunity," said Chelsea, who finished runner-up at Oceanman Indonesia (open category) in Bali last yaer.
Aslan is equally determined to make the country proud.
"I have been looking forward to this event as it brings together some of the best swimmers in the region. I can't wait to go out there and give my best. The aim is to definitely finish on the top step of the podium," said Aslan.
Kevin Yeap, a gold medalist in the discipline at the KL 2017 SEA Games, has been given the duty of training the national squad for SEAOWSC.
"SEAOWSC comes at the right time as the open water swimming category will be making a comeback at the SEA Games in Thailand in 2025 and will also be included at the 2027 edition in Malaysia," said Kevin.
"Chelsea and Aslan are two swimmers we can count on to win in their respective categories.
"It's a realistic target for them as they possess the experience needed to work out the ideal race strategy. I will do my best to motivate them throughout this journey."
Some of the top names set to compete at SEAOWSC are Indonesian swimmer Aflah Fadlan Prawira and Kittiya Tanakrit of Thailand.
SEAOWSC is organised by Malaysia Swimming with Hybrid Management Sdn Bhd as the event manager. The competition is sanctioned by the SEA Swimming Federation.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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