SEA Games: Hoe Yean Clinches Second Gold

By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

BANGKOK, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- National swim ace Khiew Hoe Yean clinched his second gold medal at the 2025 South East Asian (SEA) Games after powering to victory in the men’s 400 meter (m) freestyle at the Sports Authority of Thailand swimming pool here today.

Hoe Yean clocked a time of 3 minutes 50.63 seconds (s) to finish ahead of Vietnam’s Tran Van Nguyen Quoc (3:53.18 s) and Nguyen Huy Hoang (3:53.50 s), while national swimmer Muhammad Dhuha Zulfikry finished eighth with a time of 4:04.29s.

Hoe Yean’s first gold was in the men’s 200m freestyle last Sunday.

Malaysia also picked up a silver medal in the men’s 50 m breaststroke through Andrew Goh who clocked 27.96 s behind Singapore’s Chan Chun Ho (27.68s), while Indonesia’s Felix Viktor Iberle took bronze in 28.02 s.

In the men’s 100 m butterfly, Goh Li Hen delivered a bronze medal with a time of 2:03.02s, losing to gold medallist Wongsakorn Patsamarn of Thailand (2:02.87s) and silver medalist Mochammad Akbar of Indonesia (2:06.46 s) while national swimmer Goh Li Jie placed eighth with a time of 2:08.48s.

Meanwhile, Lim Shun Qi finished sixth in the women’s 50 m butterfly with a time of 28.19 s, as Quah Ting Wen of Vietnam claimed gold with a SEA Games record time of 26.42s followed by Miranda Cristina Renner of the Philippines (26.93s) and Thailand’s Jenjira Srisa-Ard (26.96s).

Overall, the national swimming squad had a decent medal haul with two gold medals in the men’s freestyle events, three silver and six bronze medals from a mix of individual and relay races.

The squad also made its mark by rewriting national records, notably in the men’s 50m freestyle through promising swimmer Tong Yu Jing, as well as in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team of Khiew Hoe Yean, Lim Yin Chuen, Terence Ng Jin Shian and Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal.

Malaysia won one gold, three silver and four bronze medals in the 2023 Games in Cambodia.

-- BERNAMA