Tao Li eyes one more Asiad

INCHEON — True to her reputation as a fighter, Tao Li refused to give up on the bronze medal even though she was the second-slowest qualifier for the women’s 100m butterfly final.

And moments after defying the odds to capture the bronze behind China’s Chen Xinyi and Lu Ying at the Munhak Park Tae-Hwan Aquatics Center last night, the Singapore swim star described her 2014 Incheon Asian Games outing as a successful mission before surprising the Singapore media by saying she was not done with the quadrennial meet, after previously stating she could be.

Chen, 16, won in 56.61secs to upstage her older team-mate Lu Ying (58.45). Tao Li clocked 59.08 to clinch the bronze and add it to the silver she won on Monday in the 50m fly.

“After the morning heats, I didn’t think I could finish third in the final,” said Tao Li. “I was aiming for the bronze, as I knew the two Chinese swimmers had me beaten.

“While the time wasn’t great, getting the medal was more important. It means I’ve been able to fully accomplish my mission here, not wasting the opportunity to medal in both my individual events.”

As recently as Monday evening, Tao Li had reiterated that the Incheon Games could be her last Asiad. But her latest joust with some of the world’s best swimmers appears to have reignited the fire in her belly.

And after battling injury and poor form in recent years, the 24-year-old is starting to believe again that she is a contender on the world stage.

Confessing she had been a ball of nerves before her pet 50m fly on Monday, Tao Li said: “I swam a fraction faster at the Commonwealth Games (for the 50m fly) and didn’t taper for that. So I would think 25secs should’ve been easy for me had I been more relaxed.”

That was also the observation of Florida-based Spanish coach Sergio Lopez with whom Tao Li has been training since April.

“I think between her two races, Tao Li has learned to understand how not to force things,” Lopez told TODAY. “Yesterday, she was very tense and I tried to calm her down. She was a lot better today.

“She can perform at a high level and it’s awesome she won the bronze today. I told her pre-race not to worry about her personal best and just go out and race hard.

“She had Lu Ying in the next lane and I told Tao Li to just stay with the Chinese swimmer, which she executed well.”

After the Incheon Games, Tao Li will turn her attention towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where her focus will be on the 100m fly — the 50m fly is not an Olympic event.

But her desire to regain her 50m fly crown, which she won at the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, convinced her to give the Asiad another shot.

“The 50m is all about natural speed and I feel I have a little bit more in me, so I would probably go for one more Asian Games,” she said. “And I enjoy the environment, the crowd and everything. And I enjoy swimming so I probably would, especially if I’m still able to bring glory to Singapore.”

Lopez added: “It is great she feels excited again about going on. For the 50m fly, she is definitely capable of swimming it in around 25.6 or 25.7 seconds.”