SHAH ALAM, Aug 7 — National swimmer Aslan Adnan is confident of delivering multiple medals, particularly gold, for Selangor at the 22nd Malaysia Games (SUKMA) after reaching what he believes is the best form of his career.
The 18-year-old said he is optimistic of surpassing the medal haul he achieved at the 2022 SUKMA in Sarawak following improvements to his training programme.
"At the last edition, I won gold in the 4x200m relay, silver in the 4x100m relay and bronze in the backstroke. At that time, I felt my performance had declined.
"My coaches and I discussed the situation and changed our strategy. The changes have paid off and my performance has improved. I hope to contribute many gold medals to the Selangor contingent," he told Media Selangor.
Aslan said the strong understanding developed among teammates over several years would be a key advantage in relay events.
"We have trained together for years, so the chemistry is already there. We just need to continue training to become even stronger," he said.
To ensure he remains in peak condition, Aslan said he has reduced social activities to minimise the risk of injury while maintaining strict discipline in training and nutrition.
"My biggest target this year is SUKMA, so my focus is entirely on training and maintaining my diet. I've stayed away from other activities over the past two months," he said.
The 22nd SUKMA will feature 469 medal events across 37 sports at 52 venues in nine districts throughout Selangor from August 15 to 24.
The Para SUKMA will be held from September 5 to 14, featuring 369 events in 10 sports, including swimming, athletics, badminton, table tennis, tenpin bowling, lawn bowls and archery.
The opening ceremony will be held at Dataran Kemerdekaan Shah Alam. In addition to the 15 state contingents, Brunei Darussalam will participate as an invited contingent.
As hosts, Selangor have set a target of winning 80 gold medals at this year's Games.
