Ting (centre) celebrating his gold medal win in the 200m freestyle with a new record of 2:27.53sec. Negeri Sembilan’s Anas Zul Amirul (left) and Lim Hong Qi of Penang were second and third respectively.
KUCHING: Ting Jin Ping never dreamed he could end up sweeping five gold and one silver in this year’s National Paralympic Games.
At only 18 years of age, the rising swimming star played a part in creating four new meet records at the Aquatics Centre here.
On the first day of the aquatics competition on Monday, Ting clocked 35.26s in the men’s 50m backstroke S14 category to break the games record of 40.01s set in 2010 by Negeri Sembilan’s Mohd Yadhir Nazlan. Later on, he played a pivotal role to help the Sarawak 4x50m freestyle relay team to win and set a new games record of 2min 11.69sec, which improved on the 2:22.62 set by Johor four years ago by 11 seconds.
On Tuesday, he continued his winning streak with three gold medals and erasing two more meet records.
In the 200m freestyle, Ting clocked 2:27.53 to better Lim Hong Qi’s 2014 time of 2:31.0.
Ting then led Sarawak’s winning relay quartet which included Aaron Ling Yun Thai, Mohd Adib Ikbal and Syahril Chai in smashing the 4x100m freestyle relay with a new record of 4:54.77, almost 30sec faster than the old record of 5:23.82 established by Penang in 2014.
Ting’s fifth gold came in the 50m butterfly which he won in 34.5secs.
A clean sweep of six gold medals was not meant to be when Penang’s Yoong Chung Wei clocked 1:14.83 to win the 100m backstroke, setting a new record. Swimming in a different heat, Ting did finish first with a time of 1:18.77 but his effort was good enough for a silver.
“I have been training rigorously over the past two years but I’m actually surprised by my five gold and one silver medal feat. I did not expect to better some of my personal best record in the process. I’m quite overwhelmed that I had done well in the 200m freestyle and 50m backstroke. This accomplishment only means that I have to work harder to improve,” he told reporters after a medal presentation on Tuesday.
In the 2014 National Paralympiad, Ting achieved one gold, three silver and one bronze.
When asked whether he would vie for a spot in future summer paralympic games (Olympics), Ting said he will train hard to keep abreast with the world records before setting his sights at qualification.
“For now, I just have to train harder. I’m grateful for the push and support from my team mates and coaches,” he continued.
Those with visual impairments are placed in three additional classes. A final class, S14, is reserved for swimmers with intellectual disabilities. Other classes include SB14 and SM14.