BY Fadhil Yunus

Brunei Darussalam’s swimmer Joel Ling Thai Yu created history after winning the country’s first ever medal in swimming at the 20th Malaysia Games (Sukma) at the Bukit Jalil National Aquatic Centre in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

The national swimmer won silver after recording a time of 2:12.91s in the men’s 200m backstroke long course final.

Sarawak’s Puong Wei Hii struck gold with a time of 2:07.71s, while Malacca’s Zheng Yong Low grabbed bronze with 2:13.90s.

He also set a new personal best after smashing his previous mark of 2:14.68s, which he had set during the preliminary round.

Joel’s feat marked the country’s second silver medal in this year’s Sukma after karateka Farhah Syahirah binti Mohd Shamrin clinched silver in the women’s individual kata event.

In the preliminary round, Joel ensured his berth into the final after topping his heat with a time of personal best of 2:14.68s, which was wiped out after one event.

He also competed in the men’s 200m individual medley (IM) where he registered a time of 2:19.44s, well short of his personal best of 2:15.78s.

Meanwhile, his compatriot Hayley Wong Ann Yue reached the women’s 200m IM final after posting a time of 2:35.34s in the preliminary round.

Hayley bettered her time with 2:34.65s in the final, but was not enough to beat her personal best of 2:33.80s.

Nur Haziq Samil broke his personal best with a time of 55.95s in the men’s 100m freestyle event, eclipsing his previous time of 56.46s. However, he did not proceed to the final.

Brunei Darussalam’s medal tally in this year’s games is now two silver and one bronze.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin