Young swimmer Arvin Singh aims to create surprise in Hanoi

KUALA LUMPUR: National young swimmer Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal is eyeing to pull off a surprise at the Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam scheduled from May 12-23.

Arvin who will be competing in the men's 200 metres (m) individual medley, 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay said he is looking forward to perform his best swims in his second appearance at the Games after making his debut in the 2019 edition in the Philippines.

The 21-year-old said his ultimate mission in Hanoi is to help the national swimming camp improve on their previous achievements with winning gold the priority.

"I think I'm swimming back at my best because I've been in and out with injuries in the last two years, but I'm aiming to bring back some gold medals for the country," he said when met recently.

Commenting on the challenges and fierce competition that awaits him especially from Singapore and the hosts' swimmers, Arvin said he refused to think about his competitors, instead just wanted to focus on his task.

He also admitted that he rarely watches any swimming tournaments to avoid being distracted.

"My job is to go there and be prepared for 'war', I don't really care what's going on beside me as swimming is a sport where it's you versus your time. It doesn't really matter who is beside you, as long as you swim your best time then you have the chance to win the gold medal," he said.

For the record, Arvin won the men's 4x200m freestyle relay bronze medal alongside Khiew Hoe Yean, Welson Sim and Keith Lim in his SEA Games debut.

Meanwhile, national head coach Chris Martin is confident that his swimmers will be able to perform better than in the 2019 edition which saw Malaysia manage to bag two gold medals, in the women's 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke events respectively.

"The goal for us is always to try to do more than we did before, that's the bottom line target for sure....I know this squad will swim better than the last one but what I don't know is what everyone else (rivals) are doing. I think the results will be positive," the American-born coach said.

In the meantime, Martin considered the Hanoi SEA Games as the perfect stage for the country's young swimmers to prove their ability after more than two years of not having the opportunity to participate in any international championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- BERNAMA