Commonwealth Games: Triathletes Isaac, Xian Hao need to keep up form

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- National triathlon coach Albert Tan Yi Wei wants his charges Isaac Tan Zhen Wei and Chong Xian Hao not to be intimidated but maintain their good form despite facing big names in the event at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which starts on July 28.

He believes that Isaac Tan, 17 and Xian Hao, 21 can improve on their current times to under an hour if they are able to bring their best at the Games, despite having to face stiff challenges against triathletes from Australia, South Africa and hosts England.

Isaac Tan’s current record is one hour, 1 minute and 05 second (s) which he did at the 2022 Asian Triathlon Sprint Championships in Sejong, South Korea, while Xian Hao clocked 1: 01: 53s at the 2022 Perak Triathlon Championships.

“Thorough preparations have been carried out since the end of last year, where the fitness level of the two athletes is increasing every time they participate in competitions and time trials.

"So there is nothing else to improve but they need to ensure that their progress gets better day by day and avoid injuries. I hope they can improve their times to under an hour," he said when met by reporters after receiving a visit from Chef de Mission (CDM) Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya here today.

Meanwhile, Xian Hao, who will be making his second appearance after the 2018 edition in the Gold Coast, Australia, said he is now more mature mentally and physically to showcase his best performance.

He, however, is still not sure which country will provide a tough challenge as he rarely competes against European athletes, but will try to keep the time under an hour compared to 1: 04: 45s in 2018.

Meanwhile, Shahrul Zaman said he has faith in the ability of the two young athletes to give an excellent performance with the preparations that have been implemented by the squad.

"My personal target is for them to improve their personal bests, triathlon is still new in this country and we will be competing with established countries, so we have to be reasonable in setting any target," he said.

The national triathlon squad is expected to leave for Birmingham on July 23 for the Games which ends on  Aug 8.

-- BERNAMA