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Asian Games: Quiet day in pool for Team S’pore, Schooling misses out on 50m freestyle final

JAKARTA — After winning Team Singapore’s first medal at the 2018 Asian Games in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay on Monday (Aug 20), Singapore’s swimmers endured a disappointing day at the Gelora Bung Karno Aquatics Centre on the third day of competition in Jakarta.

Joseph Schooling, who was part of the men’s 4x200m freestyle quartet that won a bronze on Monday (Aug 20), failed to qualify for the men's 50m freestyle final at the Asian Games, finishing 17th overall.

Joseph Schooling, who was part of the men’s 4x200m freestyle quartet that won a bronze on Monday (Aug 20), failed to qualify for the men's 50m freestyle final at the Asian Games, finishing 17th overall.

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JAKARTA — After winning Team Singapore’s first medal at the 2018 Asian Games in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay on Monday (Aug 20), Singapore’s swimmers endured a disappointing day at the Gelora Bung Karno Aquatics Centre on the third day of competition in Jakarta.

Fresh off the relay victory, Olympic champion Joseph Schooling was back in action in the men’s 50m freestyle heats on Tuesday morning, but the 23-year-old missed out on the final after finishing 17th overall.

Swimming in Heat 5, Schooling finished fifth in a time of 23.05sec, almost 0.2sec off his personal best and national record time of 22.47sec from the 2015 SEA Games.

Teammate Teong Tzen Wei – who won a SEA Games gold medal in the event in Kuala Lumpur last year – made the final eight after clocking 22.56sec in the heats to place fifth overall among the 51-strong field. The 19-year-old finished sixth in the final in 22.59sec, just 0.07sec off his personal best of 22.52sec.

This was the first time that Schooling competed in the 50m freestyle at the Asian Games.

While the 50m freestyle sprint is not a regular fixture on his race calendar, Schooling told reporters that he had hoped to do better in his first individual race at the Indonesia Asian Games.

“I always want to do my best in a race. My legs felt a little shot, but it’s alright,” he said.

“For the 50m freestyle, you never know what’s going to happen, and that’s how it rolls. I’m just looking forward to the next race.”

Schooling will return to the aquatics centre on Wednesday to defend his Asian Games gold medal in his pet event, the 100m butterfly. He will compete in the heats in the morning to earn a spot in the final at 7pm (Singapore time), before linking up with his teammates in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

Despite Schooling missing out on the 50m free final, National Training Centre head coach Gary Tan was not too concerned about the swimmer’s form.

He said: “For Joseph, he’s in the right space and time, even though he didn’t do as well this morning, he’s in the right frame of mind to focus on the 100 fly event.

“In terms of physical readiness, he is ready based off his swim from last night and coming into the morning. He understands the pressure, he understands where he’s at, he’s ready for tomorrow.”

His teammates also had a quiet day in the swimming pool, as Asian Games debutant Quah Jing Wen clocked a time of 58.93s in the women’s 100m butterfly final to finish in sixth spot.

The women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team of Quah Ting Wen, Christie Chue, Cherlyn Yeoh, and Gan Ching Hwee finished fifth in 8min 15.12sec.

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