Maldivian swimmers made waves at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, breaking national records and setting new benchmarks in multiple events.
Mubal Azzam Ibrahim shattered a 17-year-old national record in the men’s long course 100m breaststroke with a remarkable time of one minute 14.73 seconds. This record had stood since 2006 when Hassan Ashraf completed the event in one minute 16.33 seconds during the 10th South Asian Federation Games in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
But that was not the end for Mubal’s spectacular display. He also established a new national record in the men’s long course 200m freestyle, clocking a swift time of two minutes 8.22 seconds. This impressive feat came just a year after he had previously held the record, finishing the race in two minutes 9.06 seconds at the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships in 2019.
In the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay event, Mubal teamed up with Mohamed Rihan Shiham, Ahmed Neeq Niyas, and Ali Imran to deliver another stunning performance. The Maldivian quartet completed the event in eight minutes 50.22 seconds.
In addition to Mubal’s achievements, other Maldivian swimmers also made their mark at the games. Ali Imran secured a third-place finish in the men’s 50m backstroke event, clocking in at 29.60 seconds, while Rihan secured fifth place in the heat with a time of 30.87 seconds. Hamna Ahmed completed the race in the women’s 50m backstroke event in 35.62 seconds.
Imran’s excellence extended to the men’s 50m freestyle event, where he posted a time of 26.57 seconds. Notably, Meral Ayn Latheef and Ali Imran set national records in their respective events. Meral achieved the women’s long course 200m butterfly record with a time of three minutes 4.45 seconds, while Imran set the men’s long course 100m backstroke record at one minute 4.64 seconds.
The impressive display continued with Neeq Niyas, who competed in the men’s 200m individual medley event, finishing the first heat in two minutes 36.00 seconds, while Mubal completed the second heat in two minutes 27.09 seconds.
Mubal concluded his remarkable performances in the games by finishing the men’s 100m freestyle in just 58.44 seconds.
The women’s events also saw strong performances, with Ean Abbas Shareef competing in the first heat of the women’s 50m breaststroke event with a time of 43.83 seconds, and Hamna Ahmed competing in the fourth heat of the same event with a time of 41.24 seconds.
In the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay event, the Maldivian team, composed of Meral, Ean, Hamna, and Hanan Hussain Halim, clocked a respectable four minutes 48.47 seconds.