KUALA LUMPUR – National swimmer Tan Rou Xin has found herself in a bittersweet situation after securing a spot in the international Games to represent the country as this means that she will miss the opportunity to bring glory to her home state.
As she prepares to compete against the world’s best swimmers at the Paris Olympics, she also had to forego the chance to represent Johor at the upcoming Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma) in August.
18-year-old Rou Xin was selected to represent the country through a wild card slot in the 100m breaststroke event at the Paris Olympics, alongside Khiew Hoe Yan, who will compete in the 400m freestyle event.
Under rules set by the Malaysia Games supreme committee, athletes who have qualified and competed in the Olympics are ineligible to represent their state at Sukma.
Despite this, Rou Xin accepts the decision but explains that she has no regrets, having delivered her best performance in previous editions by securing six gold medals and earning her the title of Swimming Queen at the 2022 Sukma.
Last February, the Johor state government, through its Youth, Sports, Entrepreneurship Development, and Cooperative executive councillor Mohd Hairi Mad Shah, announced a RM10,000 reward for athletes from the state if they win gold in this year’s Sukma.
“Of course, I have mixed feelings, but I am still very happy rather than sad because my dream has come true.
“If I could choose, of course, I would choose the Olympics because it is my dream.
“It’s a mix of feelings. I can’t represent Johor in this year’s Sukma, but I did my best in the last one, so that is a good memory for me,” said Rou Xin to Scoop.
With just about 15 days left, Rou Xin is currently doing her best to prepare under the guidance of her coach Eric Anderson.
She will bring an ounce of confidence to Paris to compete with the world’s best swimmers after recently breaking two national records, namely in the 200m and 400m individual medley events at the Malaysia Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships at the National Aquatics Centre last week.
For the 200m individual medley event, Rou Xin clocked a time of 2min 16.17sec, while for the 400m event, she achieved a time of 4min 54.58 sec.
“At first, it felt really unreal because I didn’t think I could go to the Olympics. I thought the Olympics were too far away for me.
“I believed I wasn’t fast enough to qualify. But now, I’ve made it.
“I achieved this through my own effort. I put in all my effort to qualify for the Olympics, and I’m very happy and looking forward to it,” she added. – July 11, 2024